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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http: //books .google .com/I |EL^D5TANfORDj? UNIVERSITV vv\e.yyu)JiwTvi. iAXxttrtA-^. i MAHOMET AND HIS STJCCESSOBS. I^nictterliocttec €tittton. MAHOMET Ain> HIS SUCCESSOIIS BY WASHINGTON IRVING. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM AND SON, 661 Bhoknw^Y, . * * * « « j - Opposite Bond Street. 1868. , ^-^ t; ■' ^ ^ -* Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by G. P. Putnam and Son, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New Tork. • • • • •••• • • • • . • •• •• :\\ •••. • ,•• ••••• * • • -•• •;• • • • •• • •• ••••• ••• • . • ••••• ••••• ••••• • • • • •. •. . • • • • •• •• •••- • .••* ••••• I •. aiVEBSn>X« OAMBBEDGX : •i ^* • • •• •• •• %••• •'^fjSBXOTTPBD AND PRINTXD BY • • \ •• •,.••, •••*, H. 0. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. * • • *• • ••• •• • ,.••• • • • • • ••»«» » V to W w c V t ^ PREFACE. OME apology may seem necessary for pre- senting a life of Mahomet at the present day, when no new fact can be added to those already known concerning him. Many years since, during a residence in Madrid, the author pro- jected a series of writings illustrative of the domina- tion of the Arabs in Spain. These were to be in- troduced by a sketch of the life of the founder of the Islam faith, and the first mover of Arabian conquest. Most of the particulars for this were drawn from Spanish sources, and from Gagnier's translation of the Arabian historian Abulfeda, a copy of which the author found in the Jesuit's Library of the Convent of St. Isidro, at Madrid. Not having followed out in its extent the literary plan devised, the manuscript life lay neglected among the author's papers until the year 1831, when he revised and enlarged it for the Family Library of Mr. John Murray. Circumstances prevented its publication at the time, and it again was thrown aside for years. During his last residence in Spain, the author be- mi'i' vi PREFACE, guiled the tediousness of a lingering indisposition, by again revising the manuscript, profiting in so doing by recent lights thrown on the subject by dif- ferent writers, and particularly by Dr. Gustav Weil, the very intelligent and learned librarian of the University of Heidelberg, to whose industrious re- searches and able disquisitions, he acknowledges himself greatly indebted.^ Such is the origin of the work now given to the public ; on which the author lays no claim to nov- elty of fact, nor profundity of research. It still bears the type of a work intended for a Family Li- brary ; in constructing which the whole aim of the writer has been to digest into an easy, perspicuous and flowing narrative, the admitted facts concerning Mahomet, together with such legends and traditions as have been wrought into the whole system of ori- ental literature ; and at the same time to give such a summary of his faith as might be sufficient for the general reader. Under such circumstances, he has not thought it worth while to encumber his pages with a scaffolding of references and citations, nor depart from the old English nomenclature of oriental names. W. I. SUNNYSIDE, 1849. 1 Mohammed der Prophet^ sein Leben und seine Lehere, Stuttgart. 18-13. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAQI Preliminary Notice of Arabia and the Arabs ... 17 CHAPTER n. Birth and Parentage of Mahomet. — EUs Infancy and Childhood 34 CHAPTER HI. Traditions concerning Mecca and the Caaba ... 41 CHAPTER IV. First Journey of Mahomet with the Caravan to Syria . 46 CHAPTER V. Commercial Occupations of Mahomet. — His Marriage with Cadijah 53 CHAPTER VI. Conduct of Mahomet after his Marriage. — ^Becomes anx- ious for Religious Reform. — His Habits of Solitary Abstraction. — The Vision of the Cave. — His An- nunciations as a Prophet 58 CHAPTER VII. Mahomet inculcates his Doctrines secretly and slowly. — Receives further Revelations and Commands. — viii CONTENTS. Annooncement to his Kindred. — Manner in which it was received. — Enthusiastic Devotion of Ali. — Christian Portents 67 CHAPTER Vin. Outlines of the Mahometan Faith 75 CHAPTER IX. Ridicule cast on Mahomet and his Doctrines. — De- mand for Miracles. — Conduct of Abu Taleb. — Vi- olence of the Koreishites. — Mahomet\s Daughter Rokaia, with her Husband Othman and a Num- ber of Disciples, take Refuge in Abyssinia. — Ma- homet in the House of Orkham. — Hostility of Abu Jahl ; his Punishment 86 CHAPTER X. Omar Ibn al Khatt^b, Nephew of Abu Jahl, undertakes to revenge his Uncle by slaying Mahomet. — His wonderful Conversion to the Faith. — Mahomet takes refuge in a Castle of Abu Taleb. — Abu Sofian, at the head of the rival Branch of Koreishites, per- secutes Mahomet and his Followers. — Obtains a Decree of Non-intercourse with them. — Mahomet leaves his Retreat and makes Converts during the Month of Pilgrimage. — Legend of the Conversion of Habib the Wise 95 CHAPTER XI. The Ban of Non-intercourse mysteriously destroyed. — Mahomet enabled to return to Mecca. — Death of Abu Taleb; of Cadijah. — Mahomet betroths him- self to Ayesha. — Marries Sawda. — The Koreish- ites renew their Persecution. — Mahomet seeks an Asylum in Tayef. — His Expulsion thence. — Visited by Genii in the Desert of Naklah .... 106 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XU. PAOX Night Journey of the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem ; and thence to the Seventh Heaven .... 115 CHAPTER Xm. Mahomet makes Converts of Pilgrims from Medina. — Determines to fly to that City. — A Plot to slay him. — His Miraculous Escape. — His Hegira, or Flight. — His Reception at Medina .... 180 CHAPTER XIV. Moslems in Medina, Mohadjerins and Ansarians. — The party of Abdallah Ibn Obba and the Hypocrites. — Mahomet builds a Mosque; preaches; makes Con- verts among the Christians. — The Jews slow to be- lieve. — Brotherhood established between Fugitives andAlUes 143 CHAPTER XV. Marriage of Mahomet with Ayesha. — Of his Daughter Fatima with Ali. — Their Household Arrangements 151 CHAPTER XVI. The Sword announced as the Instrument of Faith. — First Foray against the Koreishites. — Surprisal of a Caravan 155 CHAPTER XVn. The Battle of Beder 162 CHAPTER XVin. Death of the Prophet's Daughter Rokaia. — Restoration of his Daughter Zeinab. — Effect of the Prophet's Malediction on Abu Lahab and his Family. — Fran- tic Rage of Henda, the Wife of Abu Sofian. — Ma- CONTENTS. PAGE hornet narrowly escapes Assassination. — Embassy of the Koreishites. — The King of Abyssinia . . 17 i CHAPTER XIX. Growing Power of Mahomet. — His Resentment against the Jews. — Insult to an Arab Damsel by the Jew- ish tribes of Kainoka. — A Tumult. — The Ben! Eainoka take Refuge in their Castle. — Subdued and punished by Confiscation and Banishment. — Blarriage of Othraan to the Prophet's Daughter 0mm Kolthum, and of the Prophet to Hafza . . 179 CHAPTER XX. Henda incites Abu Sofian and the Koreishites to re- venge the Death of her Relations slain in the Battle of Beder. — The Koreishites sally forth, followed by Henda and her Female Companions. — Battle of Ohod. — Ferocious Triumph of Henda. — Mahomet consoles himself by marrying Hend, the Daughter ofOmeya 184 CHAPTER XXI. Treachery of certain Jewish Tribes ; their Punishment. — Devotion of the Prophet's Freedman Zeid ; Di- vorces his Beautiful Wife Zeinab, that she may be- ' come the Wife of the Prophet 192 CHAPTER XXII. Expedition of Mahomet against the Beni Mostalek. — He espouses Barra, a Captive. — Treachery of Ab- dallah Ibn Obba. — Ayesha slandered. — Her Vin- dication. — Her Innocence proved by a Revelation 198 CHAPTER XXIII. The Battle of the Moat. — Bravery of Saad Ibn Moad. — Defeat of the Koreishites. — Capture of the Jew- CONTENTS, xi PAGB ish Castle of Koraida. — Saad decides as to the Punishment of the Jews. — Mahomet espouses Re- hana, a Jewish Captive. — His Life endangered by Sorcery; saved by a Revelation of the Angel Ga- briel 205 CHAPTER XXrV. Mahomet undertakes a Pilgrimage to Mecca. — Evades Khaled and a Troop of Horse sent against him. — Encamps near Mecca. — Negotiates with the Ko- reishites for Permission to enter and complete his Pilgrimage. — Treaty for ten Years, by which he is permitted to make a yearly Visit of three Days. — He returns to Medina 216 CHAPTER XXV. Expedition against the City of Khaibar; Siege. — Ex- ploits of Mahomet's Captains. — Battle of Ali and Marhab. — Storming of the Citadel. — Ali makes a Buckler of the Gate. — Capture of the Place. — Mahomet poisoned; he marries Safiya, a Captive; also 0mm Habiba, a Widow 221 CHAPTER XXVI. Missions to various Princes; to Heraclius; to Khosm H. ; to the Prefect of Egj'pt. — Their Result . . 230 CHAPTER XXVII. Mahomet's Pilgrimage to Mecca; his Marriage with Ma- imuna. — Khaled Ibn al Waled and Amru Ibn al Aass become Proselytes 234 CHAPTER XXVIII. A Moslem Envoy slain in Syria. — Expedition to avenge his Death. — Battle of Muta. — Its Results . . 237 xii CONTENTS, PAGE CHAPTER XXIX. Designs upon Mecca. — Mission of Abu Sofian. — Its Result 242 CHAPTER XXX. Surprise and Capture of Mecca 245 CHAPTER XXXI. Hostilities in the Mountains. — Enemy*s Camp in the Valley of Autas. — Battle of the Pass of Honein. — Capture of the Enemy's Camp. — Interview of Ma- ' hornet with the Nurse of his Childhood. — Division of Spoil. — Mahomet at his Mother's Grave . . 262 CHAPTER XXXII. Death of the Prophet's Daughter Zeinab. — Birth of his Son Ibrahim. — Deputations from Distant Tribes. — Poetical Contest in Presence of the Prophet. — His Susceptibility to the Charms of Poetry. — Reduction of the City of Tayef ; Destruction of its Idols. — Ne- gotiation with Amir Ibn Tafiel, a proud Bedouin Chief; Independent Spirit of the latter. — Interview of Adi, another Chief, with Mahomet . . . 275 CHAPTER XXXIII. Preparations for an Expedition against Syria. — In- trigues of Abdallah Ibn Obba. — Contributions of the Faithful. — March of the Army. — The Ac- cursed Region of Hajar. — Encampment at Tabuc. — Subjugation of the neighboring Provinces. — Khaled surprises Okalder and his Castle. — Return of the Army to Medina 284 CHAPTER XXXIV. Triumphal Entry into Medina. — Punishment of those who had reused to join the Campaign. — Effects of • •• CONTENTS. xm PAOX Excommunication. — Death of Abdallah Ibn Obba. — Dissensions in the Prophet*8 Harem . . . 294 CHAPTER XXXV. Abu Beker conducts the Yearly Pilgrimage to Mecca. — Mission of Ali to announce a Revelation . . 299 CHAPTER XXXVI. Mahomet sends his Captains on distant Enterprises. — Appoints Lieutenants to govern in Arabia Felix. — Sends Ali to suppress an Insurrection in that Pro- vince. — Death of the Prophet's only Son Ibrahim. — His Conduct at the Death-bed and the Grave. — His growing Infirmities. — His valedictory Pilgrim- age to Mecca, and his Conduct and Preaching while there 302 CHAPTER XXXVII. Of the two False Prophets, Al Aswad and Moseilma . 311 CHAPTER XXXVIII. An Army prepared to march against Syria. — Com- mand given to Osama. — The Prophet's Farewell Address to the Troops. — His Last Illness. — His Sermons in the Mosque. — His Death and the At- tending Cijcumstances 315 CHAPTER XXXIX. Person and Character of Mahomet and Speculations on his Prophetic Career 328 Appendix 345 k (Iw inditioDE 0/ tWf 18 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS, countay to the highest antiquity. It was peopled, they say, soon after the deluge, by the progeny of Shem the son of Noah, who gradually formed themselves into several tribes, the most noted of which are the Adites and Thamudites. All these primitive tribes are said to have been either swept from the earth in punishment of their iniquities, or obliterated in subsequent modifica- tions of the races, so that little remains concerning them but shadowy traditions and a few passages in the Koran. They are occasionally mentioned in oriental history as the " old primitive Ara- bians," — the " lost tribes." The primitive population of the peninsula is ascribed, by the same authorities, to Kahtan or Joctan, a descendant in the fourth generation from Shem. His posterity spread over the southern part of the peninsula and along the Red Sea. Yarab, one of his sons, founded the kingdom of Yemen, where the territory of Araba was called after him ; whence the Arabs derive the names of themselves and their country. Jurham, another son, founded the kingdom of Hedjaz, over which his descendants bore sway for many generations. Among these people Hagar and her son Ishmael were kindly received, when exiled from their home by the patriarch Abraham. In the process of time Ishmael married the daughter of Modad, a reigning prince of the line of Jurham ; and thus a stranger and a Hebrew became grafted on the original Arabian stock. It proved a vigorous graft. Ishmael's vrife bore him twelve sons, who acquired dominion over the country, and whose ORIGIN OF THE ARABS. 19 prolific race, divided into twelve tribes, expelled or overran and obliterated the primitive stock of Joctan. Such is the account given by the peninsular Arabs of their origin ; ^ and Christian writers cite it as containing the fulfillment of the covenant of God with Abraham, as recorded in Holy Writ. " And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee. And Grod said. As for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly : twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." (Genesis xvii. 18, 20.) These twelve princes with their tribes are for- ther spoken of in the Scriptures (Genesis xxv. 18) as occupying the country "from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest towards Assyria ; " a region identified by sacred geogra- phers with part of Arabia. The description of them agrees with that of the Arabs of the present day. Some are mentioned as holding towns and castles, others as dwelling in tents, or having 1 Besides the Arabs of the peninsnlaf who were all of the Shemitic race, there were others called Cushites, being des> cended from Cash the son of Ham. They inhabited the banks of the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf. The name of Cash is often given in Scripture to the Arabs generally as well as to their country. It must be the Arabs of this race who at present roam the deserted regions of ancient Assyria, and have been employed recently in disinterring the long- baried ruins of Nineveh. They are sometimes distinguished as the Syro-Arabians. The present work relates only to the Arabs of the peninsula, or Arabia Proper. 20 MAHOMET AND E/S SUCCESSORS. villages in the wilderneBs. Nebaioth and Keditr, the two first-born of Ishmael, are most noted among the princes for their wealth in flocks and herds, and for the fine wool of their sheep. From Nebaioth came the Nebaithai who inhabited Stony Arabia ; while the name of Kedar is occasionally ^ven in Holy Writ to designate the whole ArabiaD nation. " Woe is me," says the Psalmist, " that I Bojoum in Mesecb, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar." Both appear to have been the progenitors of the wandering or pastoral Arabs ; the free rovers of the desert. " The wealthy nation," says the prophet Jeremiah, " that dwel- leth without care ; which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone." A strong distinction grew up in the earliest times between the Arabs who " held towns and castles," and those who " dwelt in tents." Some of tbe former occupied the fertile wadiea, or val- leys, scattered here and there among the moan- tiuna, where these towns and caatleB were sur- rounded by vineyards and orchards, groves of palm trees, fields of grain, and well-stocked pastures. They were settled in tieir habits, de- voting themselves to the cultivation of the soil and the breeding of cattle. Others of this class gave themselves up to com- merce, having porta and cities along the Red Sea ; the southern shores of the peninsula and the Gulf of Persia, and carrying on foreign trade by means of ships and caravans. Snch especially were the people of Yemen, or Arabia the Happy, that land of spices, perfumes, and frankincense ; INLAND COMMERCE. 21 JEe Sabsea of the poets ; the Sheba of the sacred Scriptures. They were among the most active mercantile navigatora of the eaBteni seas. Their ships brought to their shores t]ie myrrh aud balsams of the opposite coast of Berljera, with the gold, the spices, nud other rich commodities of India and tropical Airiea. These, with the products of their own country, were transported by caravans across the deserts to the semi-Arabiau states of Ammon, Moab, aud Edom or Idumea, to the Phcenician ports of the Mediterranean, and thence distributed to the western world. The camel has been termed the ship of the desert, the caravan may be termed ila fleet. The caravans of Yemen were generally fitted out, manned, conducted, and guarded by the aomadic AralH, the dwellers in teute, who, in tliis respect, might he. called the navigators of the desert. They furnished the innumerable camels required, and also contributed to the freight by the fine fleeces of their connlless flocks. The writings of the prophets show the importance, in Scrip- tnral times, of tins inland chain of commerce, by which the rich countries of the south, India, Ethiopia, and Arabia the Happy, were linked with ancient Syria. Ezekiel, in his lamentations for Tyre, exclaims, "Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they occu- pied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats ; in these were they thy merchants. The merchants of Shel>a and Eaamah occnpied in thy fairs with chief of nil spices, and with all precious stones and gold. Haran, and Canneh. and Eden,' the 1 ttnrsn, Cnnaa, tind Aden, ports oa tbe Indiua Sea. 22 MAHOMET AND HFS SUCCESSORS. merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chelmad, were thj merchants." And ledoh, apeaking to Jeru- Balem, says — " The innltitude of camels shall cover thoo ; the dromedaries of Midism and Ephah ; all they from Sheba shall come ; they shiiU bring gold and ineenae All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together nnto thee ; the rams of Neboioth shall minister unto thee." (Isaiali Ix. (J, 7.) The agricultimng and trading Arabs, however, the dwellera iu towns and cities, have never been considered the true type of the nice. They be- came softened by settled and peaceful occupations, and lost much of their oi-iginal stamp by an inter- course with atrangers, Yemen, too, being more accessible than the other parts of Arabia, and offering greater temptation to the spoiler, had been repeatedly iuvaded and subdued. It was among the other class of Arabs, the rovers of the desert, the " dwellers in teals," by fer llie most numerous of the two, that the na- tional character was preserved in all its primitive forcu and freshness. Nomadic in their habits, pastoral in their occupations, and acquainted by experience and tnnlition with all the hidden re- sources of the desert, they led a wandering life, roaming from place to place in quest of those wells and springs which had been the resort of their forefethers since the days of the patriarchs ; encamping wherever they could find date-trees for shade, and sustenance and pasturage for their fiockfi, and herds, and camels ; and shifling their abode whenever the temporary supply was ex- hausted. IfATiONAL CHARACTER. 23 Theae nomadic Arabs were divided and subdi' vided into ionumeruble petty tribes or &milieB, etich witit its Sbeikli or Emir, the repreaeata,tive of the patiiarch of yore, whose spear, planted be- side hie tent, was the enaigti of command. I£a office, however, though tyiatiuued for nifluy gen- erations in the same family, was not strictly he- reditary ! but depended upon the good-will of the tribe. He might be deposed, and another of a. different line elected in his place. His power, loo, was limited, and depended upon his personal merit and the confidence reposed in him. Ills prerogative consisted in conducting negotiations of peace and war ; in leaduig his tribe against the enemy ; in choosing the place of encampment, and in receiving and entertaining strangers of note. Yet, even in these and similar privileges, he was controlled by the opinions and inclinations of hifl people.' 1 la lummor the vandering Arabs, eays Durckbanlt, seldom remiuii nbDve three or four days on the same spot; us soon as their cattle haveconeuined tbe herbage Dear a watering place, the tribe removaa in search of pasture, atid the grasa agaia spTiiigb:ig up, serves for a succeeding camp. The eDURiup- ments vary in the number of tents, fram sis to eight hundred; when the tents are but few, thej' are pitched in a circle; hut more coneiderabla numbem in a straight line, or a row of ■ingle tents, espedollj along a rivalet, sometimes three or Ibur beliiad aa many others. In winter, when water and pas- ture never fail, tbe whole tribe spreads itself over (lie plain In parties of three or four lanta each, with an interval of half an hour'! distance between each party. Tbe Sheikh's tent la ■Iwsyi on the aide on which enemies or gnesls may he en- peeled. To oppose the former and to honor the UttEr, i? the BbeM'i principal buunesa. Every father of a faniilv stitks 24 MABOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. However numerous and mmute might Le tlie divisiona of a tribe, the links of affinity were carefuiJy kept in minii by the several sections. All the Sheikhs of the same tribe acknowledge a common chief called the Sheikh of Sheikhs, who, whether ensconced in a rock-built castle, or en- camped amid his flocks and herds in the desert, might assemble under his standard all the scat- tered branches ou any emergency aflecting the The multiplicity of these wandering tribes, each bis lance into the ground by the side or his t«nt, and ties hii horse in front. There uleo his camels repose at nigtat — BuTpfchardt, JVo(ee on Bcdmim, vol. i. p. 33. The following is descriptive of the Arabs of AssjTris, thongh it is applicable, in s great degree, to the whole " It vould be diflicult to describe the appearance of a large tribe when nugrating to new pastures. We soon found our- selves in the midst of wido-spreading fiocks of sheep and camels. As &r as (be eye could reach, to the right, to the left, and in front, slill the same moving crowd. Long lines of asses and bullocks, laden with black tents, huge canldrons, and variegated carpets; aged women and men, uo longer able to walk, tied on the heap of domestic fiimitnre; infiiata crammed into saddle-bags, their tiny heads thrust through the narrow opening, balanced on the animal's back by kids or lambs tied on the opposite side; young giris clnthed only in the closB-dtting Arab shirt, whidi displayed rather than con- Gcsted their graceful fbrms ; molhera with their children on their shooldersj boys driving flocks of lamba; horsemea armed with their long tulled spears, scouring the plain on their Heet mores; riders urging their dromedaries with their shoit-hooked sticks, and leading their high-bred steeds by the baiter; colts galloping among the tlirong; sucb was the mot- ley crowd through which we had to wend onr way." — Lay- ardi A'inEt'el, i, 4. INVRED TO WAR. 25 with its petty prince and petty tenitory, but without a iia,tioDal head, produced frequent colli- sioQS. Revenge, too, was almost a religious principle among them. To avenge a relative alain WB3 (lie duty of his &mily, and ofYeu involved the honor of his tribe; and these debts of blood Bometimee remained unsettled for generatione, producing deadly fends. The necessity of being always on the alert to defend his flocks and herds, muda the Arab of the desert iamiliar from hia infaucy vriUi the exerdse of arma. None could excel him in the use of the bow, the lance, and the sdmitar, and the adroit and graceful management of the horse. He was a predatory warrior also ; for though at times he was engaged in the service of the merchant, fur- nishing him with camels and guides and drivers for the transportation of his merchandise, he was more apt to lay contributions on the caravan, or plunder it outright in its toilful progress through the desert. AU this he regarded as a legitimate exerdse of arms ; looking down upon the gaiufbl sons of traffic as an inferior race, debased by sordid habits and pursuits. Such was the Arab of the desert, the dweller -in tents, in whom was fulfilled tlie prophetic des- tiny of his auceijtor Ishmae). '' Ue will be a wild man ; his hand will he agwnst every man, and every man's hand against him." ^ Nature had fitted him for his destiny. His form was light and meagre, but sinewy and active, aud capable laining great fatigue and hardship. He was 2G MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. temperate and even abstemious, requiring but little food, and that of the simplest kind. His mind, like his body, was light and agile. He emi- nently possessed the intellectual attributes of the Shemitic race, penetrating sagacity, subtle wit, a ready conception, and a brilliant imagination. His sensibilities were quick and acute, though not lasting ; a proud and daring spirit was stamped on his sallow visage and flashed from his dark and kindling eye. He was easily aroused by the appeals of eloquence, and charmed by the graces of poetry. Speaking a language copious in the extreme, the words of which have been compared to gems and flowers, he was naturally an orator ; but he delighted in proverbs and apothegms, rather than in sustained flights of declamation, and was prone to convey his ideas in the oriental style, by apologue and parable. Though a restless and predatory warrior, he was generous and hospitable. He delighted in giving gifts ; his door was always open to the wayfarer, with whom he was ready to share his last morsel ; and his deadliest foe, having once broken bread with him, might repose securely beneath the inviolable sanctity of his tent. In religion the Arabs, in what they term the Days of Ignorance, partook largely of the two faiths, the Sabean and the Magian, which at that time prevailed over the eastern world. The Sabean, however, was the one to which they most adhered. They pretended to derive it from Sabi the son of Seth, who, with his fe,ther and his brother Enoch, they suppose to be buried in the RELIGION OF TEE ARABS. 27 pyramids. Others derive the name from the Hebrew word, Saba, or the stars, and trace the origin of the faith to the Assyrian shepherds, who as they watched their flocks by night on their level plains, and beneath their cloudless skies, noted the aspects and movements of the heavenly bodies, and formed theories of their good and evil influences on human afiairs ; vague notions which the Chaldean philosophers and priests reduced to a system, supposed to be more ancient even than that of the Egyptians. By others it is derived from still higher au- thority, and claimed to be the religion of the antediluvian world. It survived, say they, the Deluge, and was continued among the patriarchs. It was taught by Abraham, adopted by his de- scendants, the children of Israel, and sanctified and confirmed in the tablets of the law delivered unto Moses, amid the thunder and lightning of Mount Sinai. In its original state the Sabean faith was pure and spiritual ; inculcating a belief in the unity of Grod, the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, and the necessity of a virtuous and holy life to obtain a happy immortality. So profound was the reverence of the Sal)eans for the Supreme Being, that they never mentioned his name, nor did they venture to approach him, but through intermediate intelligences or angels. These were supposed to inhabit and animate the heavenly bodies in the same way as the human body is inhabited and animated by a soul. They were placed in their respective spheres 25 JtAHOMET AND BIS 8DCCESS0RS. to supervifle and govern the universe in sub- Bemency to the Most High. In addressing themselves to the stars and other celestial lumi- naries, therefore, the Sabenns did not worship them aa deities, but sought only to propitiate their angelic occupants as intercessors with the Supreme Being ; looking up through these created things to Gtod the groat Creator. By degrees this reli^on lost its original sim- plicity and purity, and became obscured by mys- teries, and degraded by idolatries. The Sabeans, instead of regarding the heavenly bodies as the hahiffltions of intermediate agents, worshipped them as deities ; set up graven images in honor of them, in sacred groves and in the gloom of forests 1 and at length enshrined these idols in temples, and worshipped them as if instinct with ' divinity. The Sabean faith too nnderwent changes and modificatjons in the various countries through which it was diffused. Egypt has long been accused of reducing it to the most abject state of degradation ; the statues, hieroglyphics, and painted sepulchres of that mysterious country, being con- sidered records of the worship, not merely of celestial inteiligeuces, but of the lowest order of created beings, and even of inanimate objects. Modern investigation and research, however, are gradually rescuing the most intellectual nation of antiquity from this aspersion, and as they slowly lift the veil of mystery which hangs over the tombs of Egypt, are discovering that all these apparent objects of adoration were but symbols of the varied attributes of the one Supreme RIVAL SECTS. 29 Being, irhose name was too sacred to be pro- nounced by mortals. Among the AralB the Sabeun Ikith became mingled with wild supersti- tions, and degraded by gross idolatry. Each tribe worshipped its particular star or plaoet, or set up its particular idol. lufkuticide mingled its horrors with llieir reli^ous rites. Among the nomadic tribes the birtb of a daughter was considered a misfortune, her sei rendering her of little service in a wandering and predatory lii'e, while she might bring disgrace npon her iainily by miscondoct or captivity. Motives of unnatural policy, therefore, may have mingled with their religious feelings, in ofiiiring up female iu&uts as sacrifices to their idols, or in burying them slive. The rival sect of Magiaus or Guebres (6re worshippers), which, as we have said, divided the reUgious empire of the East, took its rise in Per- sia, where, after a while, its oral doctrines were- redncod to writing by its great prophet and teacher Zoroaster, in his volume of the Zenda- vesta. The creed, like that of the Sabeans, was originally simple aod spiritual, inculcating a belief in one anpreme and eternal God, in whom and by whom tlie universe eidsts ; that he produced, through his creating word, two active principles, Ormusd, the principle or angel of light or good, and Aliriman, the prindple or angel of darkness or evil : that these formed the world out of a mixture of their opposite elements, and were en- gaged in a perpetual contest in the tegulatiou of its H&irs. Hence the vicissitudes of good and evO, accordingly as the angel of light or darkness 30 .VAnOMET A.VD SIS SUCCLStiOSS. has Uie upper hand : tliia coDtest would c niicil the end of the world, when there would be a general resurrection and a day of judgment ; the angol of darkness and his disciplea would then be buiiahed to au abode of woful gloom, and ibeir opponents would enter the bliBsfUl realms of ever- during light. The primitive rites of tJiis religion were ex- tremely simple. The Magians had neither tem- ples, altars, nor religious symbols of any kind, but addressed their prayers and hymna directly to the Deity, in what they conceived to be his resi- dence, the sun. They reverenced this luminary aa being his abode, and as the source of the light and heat of which all the other heavenly bodies were composed; and they kindled Area upon the mountain tops to supply light duriug its absence. Zoroaster first introduced the use of temples, wherein sacred Are, pretended to be derived from heaven, was kept perpetually alive through the guardianship of priests, who maintained a watch over it night and day. In process of time this sect, like that of the Sabeans, lost sight of the Divine principle in the symbol, and came to worship light or fti'e, as the real Deity, and to abhor darkness as Satan or the devil. In their fanatic zeal the Magians would seize upon unbelievers and offer them up in the flames to propitiate their flery deity. To the tenets of these tw made in tliat beautiful text c Solomon : " " Surely vain are who are ignorant of God, and could n " Wisdom of in by nature lot, by consid- TEE SABEANS AND 31 ASIANS. 31 Bring the work, acknowledge the work-master ; but deemed either fire, or wind, or the awift bjt, or the drcle of the stars, or the violent water, or the lighta of heaven, to he goJa, which govern the world." Of theae two faitha the Sahean, as we have be- fore observed, was much the most prevalent among the Arabs ; but in an extremely degraded form, mingled with all kinds of abuses and vary- ing among the various tribes. The Magian faith prevailed among those trihes which, ii'om their frontier position, hail frequent intercourse with Persia ; while other trihes pai-took of the super- stitiona and idolatries of the nations on which tiiey bordered. Judaism had made its way into Arabia at an early period, hut very vaguely and imperfectly. Still many of its rites and ceremonies, and f,tnci- fiil traditions, became implanted in the country. At a later day, however, whea Paleetiue was rav- aged by the Romans, and the city of Jerusalem taken and aacked, many of the Jews took refiige among the Arabs ; became incorporated wilh the native tribea ; formed themselvea into communi- ties ; acquired possession of fertile tracts ; built castles and atrougholds, and rose to considerable power and influence. The Christian religion had likewise its adher- ents among the Arabs. St. Paul himself declares in his Epistle to the Galatiaus, that aoou after he had been called to preach Christianity among the heathens, he " went into Arabia." The dissen- sioiis, also, which rose in the Eastern church, in 32 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. the early part of die third century, breaking it up iuU) aeuts, each persecuting the others tis it gained the ascendency, drove many into exile into remote purts of the East; filled the deserts of Arabia nitli anchorites, and planted the Chriatimi fikith among some of the priudpal tribes. The foregoing circumstances, physical and moral, may give an idea of the eausea which maintained tlie Arahs Ibr ages in an unchanged condition. WhUe their isolated position and their vast deserts protected them from conquest, their internal feuds, and their want of a common tie^ political or religious, kept them from being for- midable as conquerors. They were a vast aggre* gation of distinct parts ; full of individual vigor, but wanting coherent strength. Although their nomadic liie rendered them hardy and active ; al- though the greater part of t}iem were warriors from their infancy, yet thehr arms were only wielded against each other, excepting some of the frontier trilies, which occasionally engaged as mer- cenaries in external wars. While, therefore, the other nomadic races of Central Asia, possessing no greater aptness for warfare, hud, during a course of ages, Buccessively overrun and con- quered the dvilized world, this warrior race, un- conscious of its power, remained disjointed and harmless in the depths of its native deserta. The time at length arrived when its discordant trihes were to be united in one creed, and ani- mated by one common cause ; when a mighty genius was to arise, who should bring together RELIGIOUS VNIOK OF THE TRIBES. 33 these scattered limbs, animate them with his own enthusiastic and daring spirit, and lead them forth, a giant of the desert, to shake and overturn tlie empires of the earth. CHAPTER 11. Birth sad FarcDtoge of Maliomet. — His Infancy unci Cbild- hood. HJ^HAHOMET, tlie great founder of the Rpral S| fiiiih of Islam, was born in Mecca, in iftpiW-y April, tu the year 569 of the Christian era. lie wiis of Ihe valiauC and illustriouB tribe of Koreish, of which there were two branchea, de- scended from two brothers, Haschem and Abd Schetns. Haachem, the progenitor of Mahomet, was a great beriefiictor of Mecisa. This city is situated in the midat of a barren and atony coun- try, ami in former times was often subject to scarcity of provisions. At the beginning of the sistli century Haachem established two yearly caravans, one in the winter to South Arabia or Yemen ; the other in the summer to Syria. By these means abundant supplies were brought to Mecca, as well as a great variety of merchandise- Tile city became a commercial mart, and the tribe of Eoreish, which engaged largely in these espeditious, became wealthy and powerful. Ha- schem, at this time, was the guardian of the Caaba, the great shrine of Arabian pilgrimage and worship, the custody of which was conflded to none hut the most hoiiorahie tribes and fam- ilies, in the same manner, as in old limes, the temple of Jerusalem was intrnsted only lo (lie care of the Leritea. In fact the guardianship of the Caaba whs connected with civil dignities and privileges, and gnve the holder of it the control of the saered city. On the death of Ilaachem, his son. Abd al MotftUeb, succeeded to his honors, arid iidiented his patrioliara. He delivered the holy city from an invading army of troops and ekpliiiiiia, sent by the Christian princes nf Abyssinia, who at that time held Yemen in snbjeotion. These sig- nal aervices rendered by father and son, confirmed the guardianship of the Caaba in the line of Haschein ; to the great discontent and envy of the line of Abd Schems. Abd al Mot&lleb had several sons and daugh- ters. Those of lib sons wlio figure in history were, Abu Taleb, Abu Lahab, Abbas, Hitmza, and Abdallah. The last named was the youngest and best beloved. He married Amina, a maiden of a distant branch of the same illuslrinns stock of Koreish. So remarkable wafl Abiiailah for personal beauty and Ibo^e qualities which win the affections of women, tliat, if Moslem traditions are to be credited, on the night of bis marriage with Amina, two hundred virgins of the triT>e of Koreish died of broken hearts. Mahomet was the first and only fi'uit of llie marriage thus sadly celebrated. His birth, ac- cording to similar traditions vfith the one just cited, was accompanied by signs and portents an- nouncing a child of wonder. His mother suffered noDe of the pangs of travail. At the momeiit of 36 MABOMET AKD lIlS SUCCESSORS. his coming into t!ie world, a celestial light illu- mined tbe surrounding country, and the new-born child, raising liis eyea to lieaveii, excluimed : " God is great ! There is no God but God, and I am his prophet" Heaven and earth, we are assured, were agi- tated at his advent. The Lake Sawa shrank back to its secret springs, leaving its borders dry ; while the Tigris, bursting its bounds, overllowed the neighboring lands. Tlie palace of Khosrn, the King of Persia, shook to its foundations, and several of its towers were toppled to the earth. In that troubled night the Kadhi, or Judge of Persia, beheld, in a dream, a ferocious camel conquered bj an Arabian courser. He related his dream in the morning to the Peraiau moa- arch, and interpreted It to portend danger from the quarter of Ai-abia. In the same eventful night (lie sacred fire of Zoroaster, which, guard dd by the Magi, had burned without interruption for upwai-ds of a thousand years, was sudilenly extinguislied, and all the idols ill the world fell down. The de- mons, or evil genii, which lurk in the stars and the signs of tile zodiac, and exert a malignant in- fluence over the children of men, were cast forth by the pure angels, and hurled, with their arch leader, Eblis, or Luctfer, into the depths of the The relatives of the new-born cliild, say the like authorities, were filled with awe and wonder. His mother's brother, an astrologer, cast his na- tivity, and predicted that he would rise to vast BIRTU OF MAHQirET. 37 power, round an empire, and estublish a new fnillL among men. His grandralher, Abd nJ Molslleb, gave a fcaat to ihe principal Koreisbitea, the Beventh day after liis birth, at which be pre- sented this child, as the dawning glory of tbeir mce, and gBTe him ihe name of Mahomet {or Muhanied), indicative of his (iiture renown. Such are the marvelous accounts given by Moslem writers of the infancy of Miihomet, and we have little else than similar fables about his early years. He was scarce two monlhs old when his father died, leaving him no orhei' in- heritauce than five camels, a few sheep, atid a fe- male slave of Ethiopia, named Barakal. His mother, Amina, had hitherto nurtured him, but care and sorrow dried the fountains of her breast, and the air of Mecca being unhealthy for chil- dren, she sought a nurse for him among the fe- males of the neighboring Bedouin tribes. These were accnstomed to come to Mecca twice a year, in spring and autumn, to foster the children of its inhabitants; but they looked for the off- spring of the rich, where they were sure of ample recompense, and turned with contempt from this beir of poverty. At length Halema, the wife of a Saadite shepherd, was moved to compassion, and took the helpless infant to her home. It was in one of the paatoriil valleys of Ihe i > TheBeni Sad(Dr shildreti of Sad) dale from (he most re- remnuilBoflha primitivi i( Arabia. Tbeir valley is ige aouthwardly ttom ihe ■Mardt oa Ihe Sedmvit, vol. ii. p. IT. 38 HAnOMF.T AND BIS SUCCESSORS. Miitiy were tLe wouders related liy HalSma of her infnnt uhRrge. On the journey from Mtcca, the mule which bore him became miraculously endowed with speech, and proclaimed aloud that Le bore on his bock the greatest of prophets, thn chief of ambasaadora, the favorite of the Al- mighty. The sheep bowed to him as be passed ; as he lay in his cradle and gazed at the moon, it stooped lo him in reverence. The blessing of beiiven, say the Arabian wri- ters, rewarded the charity of HalSma. While the child remained under her roof, everything around her prospered. The wells and springs were never dried up ; the pastures were always green ; her flocks and herds increased tenfold ; a marvelous abundance reigned over her fields, and peace prevailed in her dwelling. The Arabian legends go on to extol the almost supernatural powers, bodily and mental, mani- fested by this wonderful child at a very early age. He could stand alone when three months old ; run abroad when he was seven, and at len could join other children in their sports with bows and arrows. At eight months he could speak BO as to be understood ; and in the course of another mouth could converse with fluency, displaying a wisdom astonishing to all who beard him. At the age of three years, while playing in the fields with bis foster brother, Masroud, two angels in shining apparel appeared before ihem. They laid Mahomet gently upon the ground, and Ga- briel, one of the angels, opened his breast, but PURIFICATION OF YOCSa MAHOMET. 39 wilhont in6icting any pain. Then taking foilh liis lieart, he cleansed ii frora all impurity, wring- ing from it those black and bitter dropa of original sin, inherited frura our furefitthcr Adam, aud which lurk in the hearts of the best of his de- BceDdants, inciting tliem to crime. When he bad thoroughly purified it, he filled it with faith and knowledge and prophetic light, and replaced it in the bosom of the child. Now, we are assured by the same authorities, began to emanate from his couotenance that mysterioua light which had con- tinued down from Adam, through the sacred line of prophets, till the time of Isaac and Ishmael ; but which had laid dormant in the descendants of the latter until it thus shone forth with renewed radiance from the features of Mahomet. At this supernatural visitation, it is added, was impressed between the shonldei-a of the child (he seal of prophecy, which continued throughout life the symbol and credential of his divine mission ; though unbelievers saw nothing in it but a large mole, the size of a pigeon's egg. When the marvelous visitation of the angel was related to Halema and her husband, they were alarmed lest some misfortune should be im- pending over the child, or that his supernatural visitors might be of the race of evil spirits or genii, which haunt the solitudes of the desert, wreaking mischief on the children of men. His Saadite nurse, therefore, carried him back to Mecca, and delivered him to his mother, Amiua. Ho remained with his parent until his sixth year, when she took him with her lo Medina, on 40 MABOMET AND I SDCCESS0R8. a visit to her relatives of tlie tribe of Adij i bul on her journey homeward she died, and wtia buried at Abwit, a village betweeu Mediua and Mecca. Her grave, it will be fouiid, was a place of pious resort and tender recollection to her aon, at the latest period of his life. The faithful Abjsaiuian slave Baraknt, now acted as a mother to t!ie orphan child, and con- ducted him to his graiidfttther Abd al MoiiUeb, in whose household he remained for two years, treated with care and tenderness. Abd al Mot&l- leb was now well stricken in years ; having out- lived the ordinary term of human exiatenco. Finding his end approaching, he called to him his eldest son Ahu Taleb, and bequeathed l^fahomet to his especial protection. The good Abu Taleb took his DCphew to his bosom, and ever after- wards was to him as a parent. As the former succeeded to the guardiansliip of the Canha at the death of his fother, Mahomet continued for several years in a kind of sacerdotal household, where the rites and ceremonies of the sacred house were rigidly observed. And here we deem it necessary to give a more especial notice of the alleged origin of the Caaba and of the rites and traditions and superstitions connected with it, closely interwoven as they are with the faith of Islam and the story of its founder. i CHAPTER in. TniJili. csraiug Moc ana the Canba. WjMSaHEN Arlam and Eve were cast forth from MyfnB Paradise, aay Arabiiui traditions, they @Bi3 fell in ditfei'etit parts of tlie earth ; Adam on a mountain of the island of Serendib, or Ceylon ; Eve in Arabia on the borders of the Red Sea, where the port of Joddah is now situate^. For two hundred years they wandered sepamte and lonely abont the earth, until, in consideration of iheir penitence and wretcliedness, they were permitted to come together again on Mount Arafat, not far from tlie present city of Mecca. lu the depth of his sorrow and repentance, Adam, it ia said, nused his hands and cye^ to heaven, and im- plored the clemency of God ; entreating that a shrine might be vouchsafed to him similar to that at which he had worshipped when in Paradise, and round which the angels used to move ia ador- ing processions. The supplication of Adam was eiFectuaL A taberoacle or temple ibrmed of radiant douds was lowered down by the hands of angels, and placed immediately below its protolype in the c^eslial paradise. Towards this heaven-descended shrine, Adam thenceforth turned when in prayer, and 42 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. ruund it he daily roaile seven drcuita in imiutlon of the rites of ihe adDiing aii^ela. At the deuth of Ailnm, say the same [roditioDB, tite tAbemocle of clouds passed away, or was aga.ia drawn up to heaven ; but another, of the same form and in the same pla<:e, was built of etoue and clay by Seth, the son of Adam. This was swept away by the deluge. Maiiy generations afterwards, in the time of the patriarchs, when Ilagar and her chUd lehmael were near perishing with thirst in the desert, an angel rerealed to them a spring or well of water, near to the andent site of the tabernacle. This was the well of Zem Zam, held sacreil by the progeny of lahmael to the present day. Shortly afterwards two in- dividuals of the gigantic race of die Amatekites, in quest of a camel whidi had strayed from their camp, discovered this well, and, haviug slaked their thirst, brought their companions to the place. Here they ibuuded the city of Mecca, taking lah- mael and his mother under their protection. They were soon expeUed by the proper inhabitants of the country, among whom Ishmael remained. When grown to man's estate, he married tlio daughter of the ruling prince, by whom he had a numerous progeny, the ancestors of the Arabian people. In process of time, by Giod's command he undertook ta rebuild the Caaba, on the predse site of the original tabernade of douds. In this pious work he was assisted by his fiicher Abraham. A miraculous stone served Abraham as a scaffold, rising and sinking with him as he bnilt the walls of the sacred edifice. It still remains there an ARABIAN TKADITIOSS. 43 iDeBtimable relic, and the print of the patriarch's foot is clearly to be perceived on it by lUl true While Abraham ami Ishmae! were thus oc- cupied, the angel Giabi'iel brought them a Etone, about which traditioual accounts are a little at rariance ; by some it is said to have been oue of the precious stones of Paradise, which fell to the earth with Adam, and was afterwards lost iu the Blime of the deluge, until retrieved hy the angel Gabriel. The more received tradition is, that it was originally the guardian angel appointed to watch over Adam in Parailise, but changed into a Btone anil ejected thence with him at his fall, as a punishment for not having been more vigilant. Thia Btone Abraham and Ishnmel received with proper reverence, and inserted it in a comer of the exterior wall of the Caaba, where it remains to the present day, devoutly kissed by worshippers each time they make a circuit of the temple- When first inserted iu the wall it was, we are told, a single jadnth of dazzling whiteness, but be- came gradually blackened by the kisses of sinful mortals. At the resurrection it will recover its angelic form, and stand ibrth a testimony before God in favor of those who have £uthfiilly per* formed the ritas of pilgrimage. ■e the Arabian traditions, which rendered the Caaba and the well of Zem Zem objects of eitraoiHlinary veneration from the remotest antiq- nity among the people of the East, and especially the descendants of Jshmael. Mecca, which in- cloaea these sacred objects within its walls, was a 41 MAHOMET AND /IIS SUCCF.SSOllS. holy city many agos before the riee of Maliomet- aaism, aud was the resort of pilgrims from all parts of Arabia. So universal and profound was the religious fbeling respecting this observance, that four months in every year were devoted to the rites of pilgrimage, and held sacred from all violence and warfare. Hostile tribes then laid aside their arms ; took the heads from their spears ; traversed the late dangerous deserts in security ; throngdd the gates of Mecca clad in the pilgrim's garb i made their seven circuits round the Caaba in imitation of the angelic host; touched and kissed the mysterious blitck stone ; drank nnd made ablutions at the well Zem Zem in memory of their ancestor Ishmael ; and having performed all the other primitive rites of pilgrimage returned home in safety, again to resume their weapons and their wars. Among the religious observances of the Arabs in these their " days of ignorance ; " that is to aay, before the promulgation of the Moslem doctrines, feating and prayer had a foremost place. They had three principal fasts within the year; one of seven, one of nine, and one of thirty days. They prayed three times each day ; about sunrise, at noon, and about sunset ; turning their faces in the direction of the Caaba, which was their kebla, or pomt of adoration. They had many reli^ous tra- ditions, some of them acquired in early times from the Jews, and they are said to have nurtured their devotional feelings with the book of Psalms, and with a book said to be by Seth, and filled with moral discourses. EARLY RELIGIOUS BIAS, 45 Brought up, as Mahomet was, in the house of the guardian of the Caaba, the ceremonies and devotions connected with the sacred edifice may have given an early bias to his mind, and in- clined it to those speculations in matters of relig- ion by which it eventually became engrossed. Though his Moslem biographers would fain per- suade us his high destiny was clearly foretold in his chUdhood by signs and prodigies, yet his edu- cation appears to have been as much neglected as that of ordinary Arab children ; for we find that he was not taught either to read or write. He was a thoughtful child, however; quick to observe, prone to meditate on all that he ob- served, and possessed of an imagination fertile, daring, and expansive. The yearly influx of pilgrims from distant parts made Mecca a recep- tacle for all kinds of floating knowledge, which he appears to have imbibed with eagerness and retained in a tenacious memory ; and as he in- creased in years, a more extended sphere of ob- servation was gradually opened to him. CHAPTER rV. First Joomey nrMahDmet with the CaraTBH to Syria. R'lji'j] AHOMET was now twelve yeara of age, 0^9 R ^"^' "^ ^^ liave shown, he bad an in- Ifi^^^ telligence fs,r beyond his years. The spirit of inquiry was awake witliin him, quick- ened by intercourse with pilgrima from all parts of Arabia. His uncle Ahu Taleb, too, beside his aacerdotal character as guardian of the Caaba, was one of the most enterprismg merchants of the tribe of Koreish, and had much to do with those caravans set on foot by his ancestor Ho- Bchem, which traded to Syria and Yemen. The arrival and departure of those caravans, which thronged the gates of Mecca and filled its streets with pleasing tumult, were exciting events to a youth like Mahomet, and carried his imagination to foreign parts. He could no longer repress the ardent curiosity thus aroused ; but once, when his uncle was about to moimt his camel to depart with the caravan for Syria, clung to him, and entreated to be pennitted to accompany him : " For who, my uncle," said he, " will take care of me when thou art away ? " The appeal was not lost upon the kind-hearted Abu Taleb. He bethought him, too, that the SUPESSrtT/ONS OF THE DESERT. 47 youth was of an age to enter upon the active Bcenes of Arab life, and of a tnpacity to render esBential service in tlie duties of the caravan ; he readily, therefore, granted his prayer, and took him with him on the journey to Syria. The route lay through re^ona fertile in febles aud traditions, which it ia the delight of the Arabs to recount in the evening halts of the caravan. The vast solitudes of the desert, in which that wandering people pass ho much of their lives, are prone to engender superstitioua fancies ; they have acconlingly peopled them with good and evil genii, and clothed them with tales of euchant- ment, mingled up with wondertnl events which happened in days of old. In these evening halts of the caravan, the yonthfiil mind of JIahomet doabllesB imbibed mauy of those snperstitions of the desert which ever afterwards dwelt in his memory, and had a powerful influence over his imagination. We may especially note two tra- dilions which he must have heard at this time, and which we find recorded by him in after years in the Koran. One related lo the mountainous district of Iledjar. Here, as the caravan wound its way through silent and deserted valleys, caves were pointed out in tlie sides of the mountains once inhabited by the Beni Thamud, or children of Thamud, one of the " lost tribes " of Arabia ; and this was the tradition concerning them. Tliey were a proud and gigantic race, eiieting lie&re the time of the patriarch Abraham. Hav- uig &llen into blind idolatry, God sent a projihet of tlie name of Saleh, to restore them to the right 48 MABOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS, way. They refused, however, to listen to him, unless he should prove the divinity of his mission by causing a camel, big with young, to issue from the entrails of a mountain. Saleh accordingly prayed, and lo ! a rock opened,and a female camel came forth, which soon produced a foal. Some of the Thamudites were convinced by the miracle, and were converted by the prophet from their idol- atry ; the greater part, however, remained in un- belief. Saleh left the camel among them as a sign, warning them that a judgment from heaven would fall on them, should they do her any harm. For a time the camel was suffered to feed quietly in their pastures, going forth in the morning, and re- turning in the evening. It is true, that when she bowed her head to drink from a brook or well, she never raised it until she had drained the last drop of water ; but then in return she yielded milk enough to supply the whole tribe. As, how- ever, she frightened the other camels from the pasture, she became an object of offense to the Thamudites, who hamstrung and slew her. Upon this there was a fearful cry from heaven, and great claps of thunder, and in the morning all the offenders were found lying on their faces dead. Thus the whole race was swept from the earth, and their country was laid for ever afterward under the ban of heaven. This story made a powerful impression on the mind of Mahomet, insomuch that, in after years, he refused to let his people encamp in the neighbor- hood, but hurried them away from it as an ac- cursed region. JUDGMENTS ON IDOLATRY, 49 Another tradition, gathered on this journey, related to the city of Eyla, situated near the Red gea. This place, he was told, had been inhabited in old times by a tribe of Jews, who lapsed into idolatry and profaned the Sabbath, by fishing on that sacred day ; whereupon the old men were transformed into swine, and the young men into monkeys. We have noted these two traditions especially, because they are both cited by Mahomet as in- stances of divine judgment on the crime of idola- try, and evince the bias his youthful mind was already taking on that important subject. Moslem writers tell us, as usual, of wonderful circumstances which attended the youth through- out this journey, giving evidence of the continual guardianship of heaven. At one time, as he traversed the burning sands of the desert, an angel hovered over him unseen, sheltering him with his wings ; a miracle, however, which evidently does not rest on the evidence of an eye-witness ; at another time he was protected by a cloud which hung over his head during the noontide heat ; and on another occasion, as he sought the scanty shade of a withered tree, it suddenly put forth leaves and blossoms. After skirting the ancient domains of the Moab- ites and the Ammonites, often mentioned in the sacred Scriptures, the caravan arrived at Bosra, or Bostra, on the confines of Syria, in the coun- try of the tribe of Manasseh, beyond the Jordan. In Scripture days it had been a city of the Le- vites but now was inhabited by Nestorian Chris- VOL. I. 4 50 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS, tians. It was a great mart, annually visited by the caravans ; and here our wayfarers came to a halt, and encamped near a convent of Nestoriai^ monks. By this fraternity Abu Taleb and his nephew were entertained with great hospitality. One of the monks, by some called Sergius, by others Bahira, ^ on conversing with Mahomet, was sur- prised at the precocity of his intellect, and inter- ested by his eager desire for information, which appears to have had reference, principally, to matters of religion. They had frequent conver- sations together on such subjects, in the course of which the efforts of the monk must have been mainly directed against that idolatry in which the youthful Mahomet had hitherto been educated ; for the Nestorian Christians were strenuous in condemning not merely the worship of images, but even the casual exhibition of them ; indeed, so far did they carry their scruples on this point, that even the cross, that general emblem of Chris- tianity, was in a great degree included in this pro- hibition. Many have ascribed that knowledge of the principles and traditions of the Christian faith displayed by Mahomet in after life, to those early conversations with this monk ; it is probable, however, that he had further intercourse with the latter in the course of subsequent visits which he made to Syria. Moslem writers pretend that the interest taken ^ Some assert that these two names indicate two monks, who held conversations with Mahomet. RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES, 51 by the monk in the youthful stranger, arose from his having accidentally perceived between his shoulders the seal of prophecy. He warned Abu Taleb, say they, when about to set out on his return to Mecca, to take care that his nephew did not fall into the hands of the Jews ; foreseeing with the eye of prophecy the trouble and opposi- tion he was to encounter from that people. It required no miraculous sign, however, to interest a sectarian monk, anxious to make pros- elytes, in an intelligent and inquiring youth, nephew of the guardian of the Caaba, who might carry back with him to Mecca the seeds of Chris- tianity sown in his tender mind ; and it was natural that the monk should be eager to prevent his hoped-for convert, in the present unsettled state of his religious opinions, from being beguiled into the Jewish faith. Mahomet returned to Mecca, his imagination teeming with the wild tales and traditions picked up in the desert, and his mind deeply impressed with the doctrines imparted to him in the Nes- torian convent. He seems ever afterwards to have entertained a mysterious reverence for Syria, probably from the religious impressions received there. It was the laud whither Abraham the patiiarch had repaired from Chaldea, taking with him the primitive worship of the one true God. " Verily,*' he used to say in after years, ** God has ever maintained guardians of his word in Syria ; forty in number ; when one dies another is sent in his room ; and through them the land is blessed." And again — " Joy be to the people of 52 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. Syria, for the angels of the kmd God spread their wings over them." ^ 1 Miskcdt-ul-Masdbihj vol. ii. p. 812. Note. — The conversion of Abraham from the idolatry into which the world had fallen after the deluge, is related in the sixth chapter of the Koran. Abraham's father, Azer, or Zerah, as his name is given in the Scriptures, was a statuary and an idolater. " And Abraham said unto his father Azer, * Why dost thou take graven images for gods ? Verily, thou and thy people are in error.* '• Then was the firmament of heaven displayed unto Abra- ham, that he might see how the world was governed. " When night came, and darkness overshadowed the earth, he beheld a bright star shining in the firmament, and cried out to his people who were astrologers : * This, according to your assertions, is the Lord.' " But the star set, and Abraham said, * I have no faith in gods that set.' " He beheld the moon rising, and exclaimed, ' Assuredly, this is the Lord' But the moon likewise set, and he was con- founded, and prayed unto God, saying, * Direct me, lest I become as one of these people, who go astray.' " When he saw the sun rising, he cried out, * This is the most glorious of all ; this of a certainty is the Lord.* But the sun also set. Then said Abraham, ' I believe not, my people, in those things which ye call gods. Verily, I turn my face unto Him, the Creator, who hath formed both the heavens and the earth.' " iv completely laiiiiched mprtnyiog bia uucles in 19 expetii lions. At one time, when about sixteen years of age, we finii bim with bis uncle Zobier, journeying witb tbe caravan to Ye- it another time acting as armor-bearer to e uncle, who led a warlike expedition of Eoreisbites in aid of the Kenanites against the tribe of Hawazaii. This ia cited as Maliomet'a first essay in arnis, though he did little else than Pnpply hia uncle wiili arrows in the heat of the , and shield him from (he darts of the enemy. It is stigmatized among Arabian writ- ers aa si Fadjar, or the injpioua war, having been carried on during theeacred months of pilgrimage. Aa Mahomet advanced in years, he was em- ployed by different persons as commercial agent or factor in- caravan journeys to Syria, Yemen, und elsewhere ; all wliicli tended to etilarge the sphere of his observation, and to give him a quick insight into character and a knowledge of was a frequent atleudcr of fairs also, 54 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. which, in Arabia, were not always mere resorts of traffic, but occasionally scenes of poetical con tests between different tribes, where prizes were adjudged to the victors, and their prize poems treasured up in the archives of princes. Such, especially, was the case with the fair of Ocadh ; and seven of the prize poems adjudged there, were hung up as trophies in the Caaba. At these fairs, also, were recited the popular tradi- tions of the Arabs, and inculcated the various religious faiths which were afloat in Arabia. From oral sources of this kind, Mahomet grad- ually accumulated much of that varied informa- tion as to creeds and doctrines which he after- wards displayed. There was at this time residing in Mecca a widow, named Cadijah (or Khadijah), of the tribe of Koreish. She had been twice married. Her last husband, a wealthy merchant, had re- cently died, and the extensive concerns of the house were in need of a conductor. A nephew of the widow, named Chuzima, had become ac- quainted with Mahomet in the course of his commercial expeditions, and had noticed the abil- ity and integrity with which he acquitted himself on all occasions. He pointed him out to his aunt as a person well qualified to be her factor. The personal appearance of Mahomet may have strongly seconded this recommendation ; for he was now about twenty-five years of age, and ex- tolled by Arabian writers for his manly beauty and engaging manners. So desirous was Cadi- jah of securing his services, that she offered him TRE WJDOIV C ABU An. 55 doublo WHgea to «uicl«ct a carsTan which sLa was on tliti point gf sending off to Syria. Ma- homet consulted his uticle Abu Taleb, ^id b; his advice accepted the offer. He was accora< paniod and aided iti the expedition by the nephew of the widow, and by her slave Mafeara, and so highly satisfied was Cudijah wilh the way iu which be discharged his duties, that, on his re- turn, she paid him double the atnoutit of his stipulated wages. She aflerwards sent him to the southern parts of Arabia on similar expedi- tions, iu all which he gave like satisfaction. Cftdijah was now in her foi-tietb year, a wom- an of judgment and experience. The mental qualities gf Mahomet rose more and more in her estimation, and her heart began to yearn lowaid the fresh and comely youth. According to Ara- bian legends, a miracle occurred most opportuiiely to confirm and sanctify the bias of her inclina- tions. She was one day with her handmaids, at the Lour of noon, on the terraced roof of her dwelling, watching the arrival of a caravan con- ducted by Mahomet. An it approached, she be- held, with astonishment, two angels overshadow- ing him with their wings to protect him from the sun. Turning, with emotion, to her handmaids, " Behold !".Haid she, '^ the beloved of Allali, who ■ends two angels to watch over him ! " Whether or not the handmaidens looked forth wilh the same eyes of duvotion as their mistress, and liljewise discerned the angels, the legend does not mention. Suffice it to say, the widow was filled with a lively faith iu the superhuman 56 BOMET AND UIS SUCCESSORS. merits of lier youthful stewarcl, and forthwith com missioned lier truatj slave, MaTsara, to offer him her hand. The negotiutioD is re(»rdcd with simple brevity. " Mahomet," demnnded Maisam, " wliy dost tliou not marry ? " "I have not the means," replied Mahomet. " Well, but if a wealthy dame should offer thee her bnod : one also who is haadsume and of high birth ? " " And who 18 she ? " " Cadijah ! " *■ How is that pos- sible ? " " Let me manage it." Maisarn i^etumed to his mistress and reported what had passed. Au hour was appointed for an interview, and the affair wr.s brought to a autisfactory arrange- ment with that promptness and eagadty which had distinguished Mahomet in all his dealings with the widow. The father of Cadijah made some opposition to the match, on account of the poverty of Mahomet, following the common no- tion that wealth should be added to wealth : but the widow wisely considered her riclies only ea the means of enabling her to follow the dictates of her hearL She gave a great feast, to which were invited her father and the rest of her rel- atives, and Mahomet's uncles Abu Taleb and Hamza, together with several other of the Kor- eishitea. At this banquet wine was served in abundance, and soon difiiised good huraor round the board. The objections to Mahomet's poverty were forgotten ; speeches were maiJe by Abu Taleb on llie one side, and by Waraka, a kins- man of Cadijah, on the other, in praise of the proposed nuptials ( the dowry was arranged, and the marriage formally concluded. MARRIAGE FESTIVITIES. 57 Mahomet then caused a camel to be killed be- fore his door, and the flesh distributed among the poor. The house was thrown open to all comers ; the female slaves of Cadijah danced to the sound of timbrels, and all was revelry and rejoicing. Abu Taleb, forgetting his age and his habitual melancholy, made merry on the occasion. He had paid down from his purse a dower of twelve and a half okks of gold, equivalent to twenty young camels. Halema, who had nursed Ma- homet' in his infancy, was summoned to rejoice at his nuptials, and was presented with a flock of forty sheep, with which she returned, enriched and contented, to her native valley, in the desert of the Saadites. CHAPTER VI. Dmet after liia Marringa. — Becomes anxious for Religious Keforra. — His Hubila of solitary Abatrsction. — Thu Vision of tbe Cave. — ilis Aanunmllons oa ■ Prophet. mamnge with Cadijah placed Mft- iiet among the most wealthy of his ive oily. His moral worth also gave him gi*eat iofluence iti the community. Allah, Btiys the liistoriau Abulleda, had endowed him with every gift necessary lo accomplish and adofD an honest mua ; he wa^ bo pure and aia- 1 free from every evil thought, that ho mmonly knowti by the name of Al Amin or The Faitliful. The great confidence reposed in his judgment and probity, cnuaed him to be frequently referred lo as arbiter in disputes between hia tc Au anecdote is given as illiiMrative of his sa- gacity on each occasions. The Caaba having been injured by fire, was undergoing repairs, in the course of which the sacred black atone was to be replaced. A dispute aroae among the chiefs of the various ti'ibes, as to wliich was entitled to perform so angust an office, and tliey agreed to abide by the decision of the flret person who should enter by (he giile Al Iliiram. Thai ptrsou CONDUCT AFTER MARRIAGE, 59 happened to be Mahomet. Upon hearing their dififerent claims, he directed that a great cloth should be spread upon the ground, and the stone laid thereon ; and that a man from each tribe should take hold of the border, of the cloth. In this way the sacred stone was raised equally and at the same time by them all to a level with its allotted place, in which Mahomet fixed it with his own hands. Four daughters and one son, were the fruit of the marriage with Cadijah. The son was named Kasim, whence Mahomet was occasionally called Abu Kasim, or the father of Kasim, according to Arabian nomenclature. This son, however, died in his infancy. For several years after his marriage he con- tinued in commerce, visiting the great Arabian fairs, and making distant journeys with the car- avans. His expeditions were not as profitable as in the days of his stewardship, and the wealth acquired with his wife diminished, rather than increased in the course of his operations. That wealth, in fact, had raised him above the neces- sity of toiling for subsistence, and given him leisure to indulge the orijjinal bias of his mind — a turn for reverie and religious speculation, which he had evinced from his earliest years. This had been fostered in the course of his journeyings by his intercourse with Jews and Christians, origi- nally fugitives from persecution, but now gathered into tribes, or forming part of the population of cities. The Arabian deserts too, rife as we have shown them with fanciful superstitious, had 60 MAUOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. furnished aliment for his enthusiastic reveries. Since his marriage with Cadijah, also, he had a household oracle to influence him in his religious opinions. This was his wife's cousin Waraka, a man of speculative mind and flexible faith ; origi- nally a Jew ; subsequently a Christian ; and withal a preten!e at large, eBpecioJlj among the women, who are ever prone to befriend a persecuted cause. Mauy of the Jew3, olfio, followed him for a time, but when they found that he permitted his disciples to eat the flesh of the camel, and of other animala Ibr- bidden by their law, they drew back and rejected his religion as unclean. Mahomet now threw off all reserve, or r&tlier W3B inspired with increasing enthusiasm, and went iibout openly and earnestly proclaiming hia 'doctrines, and giving himself out as a prophet, sent by God to put an end to idolatry, and to mitigate the rigor of the Jewish and the Christiari law. The billa of Safa and Eubeia, sanctdfied by traditions concerning Hagar and Ishmael, were his favorite places of preaching, and Mount Hara was his Sinai, whither be retired occasionally, iu iits of excitement aud enthusiasm, to return from its solitary cave with fresh revelations of the Koran, The good old Christian writers, on treating of the advent of one whom they denounce as the Arab enemy of the church, make superslitious record of divers prodigies which occurred, about this time, awtiil forerunners of the troubles about to agitate the world. In Constantinople, at that time the seat of Christian empire, were several CHRISTIAN PORTENTS, 73 monstrous births and prodigious apparitions, which struck dismay into the hearts of all beholders. In certain religious processions in that neighbor- hood, the crosses on a sudden moved of them- selves, and were violently agitated, causing astonishment and terror. The Nile, too, that ancient mother of wonders, gave birth to two hideous forms, seemingly man and woman, which rose out of its waters, gazed about them for a time with terrific aspect, and sank again beneath the waves. For a whole day the sun appeared to be diminished to one third of its usual size, shedding pale and baleful rays. During a moon- less night a fiirnace light glowed throughout the heavens, and bloody lanqes glittered in the sky. All these, and sundry other like marvels, were interpreted into signs of coming troubles. The^ ancient servants of God shook their heads mourn- fully, predicting the reign of antichrist at hand ; with vehement persecution of the Christian faith, and great desolation of the churches ; and to such holy men who have passed through the trials and troubles of the faith, adds the venerable Padre Jayme Bleda, it is given to understand and ex- plain these mysterious portents, which forerun disasters of the church ; even as it is given to ancient mariners to read in the signs of the air, the heavens and the deep, the coming tempest which is to overwhelm their bark. Many of these sainted men were gathered to glory before the completion of their prophecies. There, seated securely in the empyreal heavens, they may have looked down with compassion 74 MABOMET AND BIS SOCCEBaOSS. upon the troubles of the Chriatian world ; as men OQ the serene heighta of mountains look down upon tlie tempests which sweep the earth and sea, wrecking tall ships, and rending lofty towers. \ CHAPTER VIII. Oallinc le Matiometon Fiith. ■ IIOUGH it is uot iiitetidetl in this place I lo go fully into the doctrines proniiil- ;Hied by Mahomet, yet it is importaDt lo the right appreciation of his character and con- duct, and of the events and circumstances set fortli in the following narrative, to give their main features. It must be particularly borne in mind, that Mahomet did not profess to set up a new relig- ion ; bnt to restore that derived in the earliest times from G!od himself. " We follow," says the Koran, "the religion of Abraham the orthodox, who was no idolater. We believe in God and that which halh been sent down to ua, and that which hath been sent down unto Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was delivered unto Moses and Jeans, and that which was delivered unto the prophets from the Lord : we make no distinction between any of them, and to God we are re- signed." • Tiie Koran, ^ which was the great hixik of 7G MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. his faith, was delivered in portions from time to time, according to the excitement of his feelings, or the exigency of circumstances. It was not given as his own work, but as a divine revela- tion ; as the very words of God. The Deity is supposed to speak in every instance. " We have sent thee down the book of truth, confirm- ing the scripture which was revealed before it, and preserving the same in its purity." ^ Tlie law of Moses, it was said, had for a time been the guide and rule of human conduct. At the coming of Jesus Christ it was superseded by the Gospel ; both were now to give place to the Koran, which was more full and explicit than the preceding codes, and intended to reform the abuses which had crept into them through the negligence or the corruptions of their professors. It was the completion of the Law ; after it there would be no more divine revelations. Mahomet was the last, as he was the greatest, of the line of prophets sent to make known the will of God. The unity of God was the corner-stone of this reformed religion. "There is no God but God," was its leading dogma. Hence, it received the name of the religion of Islam,^ an Arabian word, 1 Koran, ch. v. 2 Some etymologists derive Islam from Salem or Aslama, which signifies salvation. The Christians form from it the term Islamisra, and the Jews have varied it into Ismailism, which they intend as a reproach, and an allusion to the origin of the Arabs as descendants of Ishmael. From Islam the Arabians drew the terms Moslem or Mus- lera, and Musulman, a professor of the faith of Islam. These terms are in the singular number and make Musliman in the I OVTLIN£S OF MAHOMETANIBM. T7 implying submissioo to Gkid. To tliis leading dogma, was ttdded, " Mahomet ia the prophet of God ; " ao addition authorized, aa it was niiiin- taioed, by the dirioe annunciation, and important to procure a ready acceptation oi' his reveliitiona. Beside the unity o? God, a belief was incul- cjited in hia angela or miuislering spirila ; in his prophets ; in the resurrection of the body ; in the last judgment and a future state of rewards and puniithments, and in predostination. Much of the Koran may be traced to the Bible, the Mishnn and the Talmud of the Jews,^ especially its wild though oflen beauliliil traditious concern- ing the augela, the pivphets, the palriarclis, and the good and evil genii. He bad at an early age dull, uid Uuellmen in the ^Inral. The Freni:h and tiuma other nations follow thu idioms of their own langua)^ in ■ilupting or translating the Arabic lerma, and form (he [ilural hv the addition of the letter j; writing Musulman and Miia- nlnians. A few En|;lieh nTiteti, of whom Gibbon in the chief, have imiUtad them, imngining that they wera following the Arabian unBge. Most EngUah authors, huwever, follow tha idiom of ibelr own linguage, writing Moslem uid Moslems, Huaulnmnand Musulmen; thia usage iaalao tbs mumhanmi- 1 Tht iSUhaa of the Jews lika the Sonna of tho Mahom- stUB, i> a collection of traditioaa fnrmlD); the Oral Law. It naa compiled in the second cantor}' by Judah HakkiidlBh. a teamed Jewish Rabbi, daring the reign of Antoninus Pius, Hie Komui Emperor. The Jeriualum Talmud and the Babylonish Talmud, are piled at Jerusalem, about three hundrrd years after Christ, «nd the latter in Babylonia, shout two ocnluri« later. The Miehnu is the moat ancient retord poBSOSBcd by tho Jews ex- Jd MASOMKT AND HIS SUCCESSORS. imbibed a reverence for the JewUh faitL, bis moiber, \t is suggested, liaviug been of iLat re- ligion. The sjstem luiii down in itie Koran, however, was essentially fouiiiled on ihe Christian doctrines iDculcuted in the New Testament ; as they hud been expounded to him by the CbristiaJi aectn- riaiia of Arubia. Our Saviour was lo be held ill the highest I'everence as an inspired prophet, the greatest that had been sent before the time of Mahomet, ti3 reform the Law ; but all idea of his divinity was rejected as impious, and the doc- trine of the Trinity was denounced es an outrage on the unity of Giod. Both were pronounced errors and inlerpolatious of the expounders ; and this, it will be observed, was the opinion of some of the Arabian sects of Christians. The worship of saints and the introduction of images and paintings representing them, were condemned as idolatrous lapses from the pure faith of Christ, and such, we have already ob- served, were the tenets of the Nestoriaiia with whom Mahomet is known to have hod much com- munication. All pictures representing living things were prohibited, llabomet used to say, that the an- gels would not enter a house in which there were such pictures, and that those who made them would be sentenced in the nest world, to find Eouls for them, or be punished. Most of the benignant precepts of our Saviour wei'e incorporated in the Koran, Frequent alms- giving was enjoined as an imperative duty, and mu OUTLINES OF MAFIOMETANISJt. 7D the iDimiitable law of right and wrong, " Do unto aoother, as thou wouldst he should do uuto thee," was given for tlie moral conduct of the faithful. " Deal not unjustly with others," says the Ko- ran, " and ye shall uot be dealt with unjusllj. If there be any debtor under a diffieuliy of paying his debt, let his creditor wait until it be easy for hini to do it ; btit if he remit it in alms, it will be better for him." Mahomet inculcated a noble fairness and sin- cerity in dealing. " O nierchanta ! " would he say, " falsehood and deception are apt to prevail in traffic, purify it therefore with alms ; give something in charity b3 an atonement; for God is incensed by deceit in dealinn;, but charity ap- peases his anger. He who sells a defective thing, concealing its defect, will provoke the an- ger of God and the curses of the angels. "Take not advantage of the necessities of an- other to buy things at sacrifice ; rather relieve his indigence. " Feed the hungry ; visit the sick, and free the captive if confined unjustly. " Look not scornfully upon thy fellow man ; neither walk the earth with iiisolence ; for God loveth not the arrogant and vainglorious. Be moderate in thy pace, and speak with a mode- rate tone i for the most ungrateful of all voices, in the voice of asses." ^ ITbe foliowing wards of Mahomet, treasured up by one of his disciples, appear lo liave boou suggesled bj* H pnaSBgo in Mntlhew xxv. 3B— i5 : '■ Verily, God will say at the day of raaurrection, ' 80 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. Idolatry of all kinds was strictly forbidden ; indeed it was what Mahomet held in most abhor- rence. Many of the religious usages, however, prevalent since time immemorial among the Arabs, to which he had been accustomed from infancy, and which were not incompatible with the doo- ti-ine of the unity of Grod, were still retained. Such was the pilgrimage to Mecca, including all the rites connected with the Caaba, the well of Zem Zem, and other sacred places in the vicin- ity; apart from any worship of the idols by which they had been profaned. The old Arabian rite of prayer, accompanied or rather preceded by ablution, was still contin- ued. Prayers indeed were enjoined at certain hours of the day and night ; they were simple in sons of Adam ! I was sick, and ye did not visit me.* Then they will say, * How could we visit thee ? for thou art the Lord of the universe, and art free from sickness.' And Grod will reply, ' Knew ye not that such a one of my servants was sick, and ye did not visit him? Had you visited that sen-ant, it would have been counted to you as righteousness.' And God will say, ' O sons of Adam ! I asked you for food, and ye gave it me not.' And the sons of Adam will say, * How could we give thee food, seeing thou art the sustainer of the universe, and art free from hunger?' And God will say, ' Such a one of my servants asked you for bread, and ye refused it. Had you given him to eat, ye would have received your reward from me.' And God will say, ' O sons of Adam, I asked you for water, and ye give it me not.' They will reply, '0, our supporter! How could we give thee water, seeing thou art the sustainer of the universe, and not subject to thirst? And God will say, 'Such a one of my servants asked you for water, and ye did not give it to him. Had ye done so, ye would have received your reward from me.' " OUTLINES OF MAHOMETANISM. SI form and phrase, addressed directly lo tlie Deity with certain iuflexiona, or at times a total pros- tration of the body, and with the face turned towards the Kebla, or point of adoration. At the end of each prayer, the following verse from the second chapter of the Koran was re- cited. It 19 eaid lo bitfe gi'eat beaaty in the original Arabic, and is engraved on gold and sil- ver ornaments, nnd on precious stones worn as amuleta. ■' God ! There is no God but He, the living, the ever living ; he sleepfith not, neither doth he slumber. To hitn helongetb the heav- ens, and the earth, and all that they contain. Who shall intercede with bim unless by his per- mission ? He knowetb the past and the future, but no one can comprehend anything of his knowledge but that which be revealeth. His aivay extendeth over the heavens and the earth, and to sustain them both is no burtlien to him. He is the High, the Mighty ! " Mahomet was streunous in enforcing the im- portance and efficacy of prayer. " Angela," said he, " come among yon both by night and day ; afler which those of the night ascend to heaven, and God asks them how they left his creatures. We found them, say they, at their prayers, and we left them at their prayers." The doctrines in the Koran respecting the resurrection and final judgment, were in some re- speolB similar to those of the Christian religion, but were mixed up with wild notions derived from other sources ; while the joys of the Mos- lem heaven, though partly spiritual, were digged 82 MABOifET A.VD Ills SUCCESSORS. aud debased by the sensualities of earth, and va- finilely below the ineffable purity and spiritual blesscduess of tLe heaven promised by our Sn- Nevertheless, the descriptiou of the last day, as contained in the eightj-Crst clinpter of the Koran, and which must have been given by Ma- homet at the outset of his mission at Mecca, as one of the first of hia revelations, partakes of sublimity. " 111 the name of the all merciful God! a day shall come when the sun will be shrouded, and the stars will fail from tlio heavens. " When the camels about to foal will be ueg- lecltid, and wild beasts will herd together throagh " When the waves of the ocean will boil, and the soula of the dead again be uniled to the bod- " When the female infant that has been buried alive will demand, For what crime was I sacri- ficed ? and the eternal books will be laid open. " When the heavens will pass away like a scroll, and heli will burn fiercely ; and the joys of paradise will be made manifest. " On that day shall every soul make known that which it hath performed. " Verily, I swear to you by the stars which move swiftly and are lost in the brightness of the Bun, and by the darkness of the night, and by the dawning of the day, these are not the words of an evil spirit, but of an angel of dignity and power, who possesses tlie confidence of Allali, OUTLINES OF MAHOMETANISM, 83 And is revered by the angels under his com- mand. Neither is your companion, Mahomet, distracted. He beheld the celestial messenger in the light of the clear horizon, and the words re- vealed to him are intended as an admonition unto all creatures." Note. — To exhibit the perplexed maze of controversial doctrines from which Mahomet had to acquire his notions of the Christian faith, we subjoin the leading points of the jarring sects of oriental Christians alluded to in the foregoing article; all of which have been pronounced heretical or schismatic. The Sabellians, so called from Sabellius, a Libyan priest of the third century, believed in the unity of God, and that the Trinity expressed but three different states or relations. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, all forming but one substance, as a man consists of body and soul. The Arians, from Arius, an ecclesiastic of Alexandria in the fourth century, affirmed Christ to be the Son of God, but dis- tinct from him and inferior to him, and denied the Holy Ghost to be God. The Nestorians, from Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople in the fifth century, maintained that Christ had two distinct natures, divine and human ; that Mary was only his mother, and Jesus a man, and that it was an abomination to style her, as was the custom of the church, the Mother of God. The Monophysites maintained the single nature of Christ, as their name betokens. They affirmed that he was combined of God and man, so mingled and united as tp form but one nature. The Eutychians, from Eutyches, abbot of a convent in Con- stantinople in the fifth century, were a branch of the Mono- physites, expressly opposed to the Nestorians. They denied the double nature of Christ, declaring that he was entirely Crod previous to the incarnation, and entirely man during the incarnation. The Jacobites, from Jacobus, bishop of Edessa, in Syria, in the sixth century, were a very numerous branch of the Mono- 84 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS, physites, varying but little from the Eutychians. Most of the Christian tribes of Arabs were Jacobites. The Mariamites, or worshippers of Mary, regarded the Trinity as consisting of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Virgin Mary. The Collyridians were a sect of Arabian Christians, com- posed chiefly of females. They worshipped the Virgin Mary as possessed of divinity, and made offerings to her of a twist^ cake, called collyris, whence they derived their name. The Nazarseans, or Nazarenes, were a sect of Jewish Chris- tians, who considered Christ as the Messiah, as bom of a Vir- gin by the Holy Ghost, and as possessing something of a divine nature ; but they conformed in all other respects to the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law. The Ebionites, from Ebion, a converted Jew, who lived in the first century, were also a sect of judaizing Christians, little differing from the Nazarseans. They believed Christ to be a pure man, the greatest of the prophets, but denied that he had Hny existence previous to being bom of the Virgin Mary. This sect, as well as that of the Nazaraeans, had many adher- ents in Arabia. Many other sects might be enumerated, such as the Co- rinthians, Maronites, and Marcionites, who took their names from learned and zealous leaders ; and the Docetes and Gnos- tics, who were subdivided into various sects of subtle enthusi- asts. Some of these asserted the immaculate purity of the Virgin Mary, affirming that her conception and delivery were effected like the transmission of the rays of light through a pane of glass, without impairing her virginity; an opinion still maintained strenuously in substance by Spanish Catholics. Most of the Docetes asserted that Jesus Christ was of a na- ture entirely divine ; that a phantom, a mere form without substance, was crucified by the deluded Jews, and that the cmcifixion and resurrection were deceptive mystical exhibi- tions at Jerusalem for the benefit of the human race. The Carpocratians, Basilidians, and Valentinians, named after three Egyptian controversialists, contended that Jesus Christ was merely a wise and virtuous mortal, the son of Joseph and Mary, selected by God to reform and instruct mankind; but that a divine nature was imparted to him at the maturity of his age, and period of his baptism, by St. OUTLINES OF MAH0METANI8M, 85 John. The former part of this creed, which is that of the Ebionites, has been revived, and is professed by some of the Unitarian Christians, a numerous and increasing sect of Prot- estants of the present day. It is sufficient to glance at these dissensions, which we have not arranged in chronological order, but which convulsed the early Christian church, and continued to prevail at the era of Mahomet, to acquit him of any charge of conscious blasphemy in the opinions he inculcated concerning the nature and mis- sion of our Saviour. CHAPTER IX. ffl^cnle cast on MiliaiaBt uid bis DDCtrinea. — Demand for Mirseles. — Conduct of Abu Taleb. — Vio!en«i of Iba Zo- retshitee. — Matiumet'fl Daughter Bokais, with ber Hua- bsnd Ollimsii Bod a Mmnbcr of Disciples, take Befuge in AbvaaiDia. - Mahomet in tlie House of Orkham.— Hostility ol' Abu Julii; bis Puaiatiment. ^S^^TIE greateet difficully with wiiich Ma- R»0W h"'"^^ ^"'^ ^° coulend ;it the outset of jlCsHI Ills prophetic career, was the ridicule of Li» upptinenls. Those who had known him from his iufiiacy — who htid Been him a boy about the streets of Mect^; and afYorwards occupied in all the ordinary concerns of life, scoffed at his as- sumption of tlie apostolic character. They pointed with a sneer at him as he passed, ex- claiming, " Behold the grandson of Abd al Mo- tfilleb, who pretends to know what is going on in heaven ! " Some who had witnessed his fits of mental excitement and ecstasy, tnnsidered bim insane ; others declared thut he was possessed of a devil, and some charged him with sorcery and magic. When he walked ttie streets he was subject to those jeers, and taunts, and insults which the vulgar are apt to veut upon men of eccentric conduct and uusettled mind. If he attempted to AMJiU THE POET. 87 preacb, bis voice wa: noises and ribnld Bon< upOD him wlien he v/m Nor waa it the vulgi drowned by discordant s ; nay, dirt was tiirown praying in the Caaba, id ignorant alone who thus insulted him. One of his most redoubtable aSBaitanIa was a youth unnied Amru ; and as he Bubsequenlly made n distinguished figure in Ma- hoinetaD history, we would impress the circum- stances of this, hia first appearance, upon the mind of the reader. He was the sou of a cour* tesan of Mecca ; who seeras lo have rivaled in fascination the Phrynes and Aspasias of Greece, and to have numbered some of the noblest of the land among her lovers. When she gave birth to this child, she mentioned several of the tribe of Koreish who had equal claims to the paternity. The infaat was declared to have most resem- blance to Aoaa, the oldest of ber admirers, whence, in addition to his name of Amru, he re- ceived the designation of Ihn al Aass, the sou of Nature had lavished her choicest gilts upon this natural child, as if to atone for the blemish of hia birth. Though young, he was already one of the most popular poets of Arabia, and equally dbtinguislied for the pungency of his satirical ef- fusions and the coplivating sweetness of his sen- When llahomet first announced his mission, this youth assailed him with lampoons and humor- ous madrigals ; which, falling in with the poetic taste of the Arabs, were widely circulated, and proved greater impediments to the growth of Is- lam ism than the bitterest persecutiou. 88 MAnOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. Tliose who were more serioiia in their opposi- tion demanded of Mahomet superDatuml proo& of what he asserted. " Moses, and Jesus, and the rest of the prophels," said they, " wrought miracles to prove the divinity of their misaioos. If thou art indeed a prophet, greater tlian they, work the like miracles." The reply of Mahomet may be gatliered from his own words in the Koran. " What greater miracle could they have than the Kornn itself; a book reveitled by means of iin unlettered maa; BO elevated in language, so incontrovertible in ar- gument, that the united skill of men and devils could compose nothing comparable. What greater proof could there be that it came from none but God himself? The Koran itself ia a mitacle." They demanded, however, more palpable evi- dence ; miracles addressed to the senses ; that he should cause the dumb to spenk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dead lo rise ; or that he should work changes in Che face of uatiire ; cause fountains to gush forth ; change a sterile plaee into a garden, with palm-trees, and vines, and running streams ; cause a palace of gold to rise, decked with jewels and precious stones ; or ascend by a ladder into heaven in their presence. Or, if the Koran did indeed, as he affirmed, come down from heaven, that they might see it as it descended, or behold the angel who brought it ; and then tiiey would believe. Mahomet replied sometimes by arguments, sometimes by denuneialions. He claimed to be A DEMAND FOR MIRACLES. 89 notbiDg more thnn a man sent hj God as nn apostle. Flad angels, aaid he, walked famiiiarly on enrth, an angel Lad assuredly been sent on this mission ; but woeful had been the caae of those who, as in the present instance, doubted Ills word. They would not have been able, as with me, to argue, and dispute, and take time to be convinced ; their perdition would have been in- stantaneous, " God," added he, " needs no an- gel to enforce my mission. He is a sufficient witness between you and me. Those whom be shall dispose to be convinced, will truly believe ; those whom he shall permit lo remain in error, will find none lo help their unbelief. On the day of resurrection they will appear blind, and deaf, and dumb, and groveling on their faces. Their abode will be in (he eternal flaraes of Je- hennam. Such will be the reward of their un- belief. " You insist on miracles. God gave to Moses the power of working miracles. What was the consequence ? Pharoah disregarded his miracles, accused him of sorcery, and sought to drive him aod bis people from the land : but Pharaoh was drowned, and with him all his host. ATouId ye tempt God to miracles, and I'isk the punishment of Pliaraoh ? " It is recorded by Al Maalem, an Arabian wri- ter, that some of Mahomet's disciples at one time joined with the multitude in this cry for miracles, and besought him to prove, at once, the divinity of his missiun. by turning the hill of Sath into gold. Being thus closely urged, he betook him- 90 MAJlOMEl AND HIS SUCCESSORS. self to prayer; aad hariug finished, aaaured biB foliowera that the angel Gabriel had appeared to bim, and informed him that, should God grant his prayer, and work the desired miracle, all who disbelieved it would be exterminated. In pity to the multitude, therefore, who appeared to be b Btiff-necked generation, he would not expase them to destruction : bo the bill of Safa was permitted to remain m its pristine state. Other Moslem writers assert that Mahomet de- parted from his self-prescribed rule, and wronght occaBional miracles, when he found his hearers unusually slow of belief. Thus we are told that, at one time, in presence of a multitude, be called to him a bull, and look from his horns a scroll coutaiiiitig a chapter of the Koran, just sent down from heaven. At another time, while discoursing in public, a white dove hovered over him, and, alighting on his shoulder, appeared to whieper i bis ear ; being, as he said, a messenger from th Deity, On another occasion he oi'dered the earth before him to be opened, when two jars were found, one filled with honey, the other with milk, which he pronounced emblems of the abun- dance promised by heaven to all who should obey his law. Christian writers have scoffed at these mir- acles ; suggesting that the dove had been tutored to its task, and sought grains of wheat which it had been accustomed to find in the ear of Ma- homet ; that the scroll had previously been tied to the horns of the bull, and the vessels of milk and honey deposited in the ground. The true SOLICITUDE OF ABU TALEB. 91 course ' would be lo discard these mirauulons filories altogether, as fahles devised by mistaken zealots ; and such they have been prononnced by the ablest of tbe Moslem commentators. There is no proof that Maboraet descended to any artifices of the kind to enforce his doctrines or establish his apostolic claims. He appears to have relied entirely on reason and eloquence, and to have been supported by religious enthusiasm iu this early and dubious stage of his career. His earnest attacks upon the idolatry which had vitiated and superseded the primitive woi-ship of the Caaba, began to have a sensible effect, and alarmed the Koreishiles. They urged Abu Taleb to sileTice his nephew or to send him away ( but finding their entreHties unavailing, they to- formed the old man that if this pretended prophet and his followers persisted in their heresies, they should pay for thera with their lives. - Abu Taleb hastened to inform Mahomet of these menaces, imploring bira not to provoke against himself and family such numerous and powerful foes. The enthusiastic spirit, of Mahomet kindled at the words. " niy uncle ! " exclaJmed he, " though they sltould array the sun against me on my right hand, and the moon on my left, yet, until God itLouId command me, or should take me hence, would I not depart from my purpose." He was retiring with dejected countenance, when Abn Taleb called liiin back. The old man was as yet unconverted, bnt he was slnick wilh admiration of the undaunted finnni.'ss uf his MAnOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. FeelJDg that of himself he could Dot yield enlli' cient protection, he called upon tlie other de- HceodaDU of Hnschem and Abd al Moialleb to aid ill sliieldiDg their kiDsmim from the persecution of the rest of tlie tribe of Koreish ; and so strong is the family tie among the Arabs, that though it was protecting him in what they considered a dangerous heresy, they all conaenied excepting his uncle Abu Lahab. The animosity of the Koreishites became more and more yiralant, and proceeded to personal violence. Mahomet whs assailed and nearly strangled in the Caaba, and was rescned with difficulty by Abu lieker, who himself suffered personal injury in the affray. His immediate family became objects of hatred, especially bia daughter Bnkaia and hfer husband Othman Ibn Afftm. Such of his disciples as had no powerful fi-iends lo protect them were in peri! of iheir lives. Full of anxiety for tlieir safety, Mahomet ato the grave. She was sixty-five years of age. Mahomet wept bitterly at her tomb, and clothed himself in mourning for her, and for Abu Taleb, so that this year was called the year of DEATH OF CADIJAB. 109 mourning. He waa comforted iu his afflicCiou, says the Arabian author, Abn Horaira, by an as- Burance from the angel Gabriel, that a silver palace was allotted to Cadijah in Fai-adiae, aa a reward for her great feith and her early services Though Cadijah hod been much older than Mahomet at tlie time of their marriage, uud piiBt tie bloom of yeara whun women are desirable in the East, and though the prophet was noted for au amoroua temperament, yet he is said to have remaiued true to her to the lost ; nor ever availed himself of the Arabian law, permitting a plurality of wives, to give her a rival in his house. When, however, she was laid in the grave, and the first transport of his grief had subsided, he sought to console himself ibr her loss, by euteriug anew into wedlock ; and henceforth indulged in a plurality of wives. He permitted, by his law, four wives, to each of his followers ; but did not limi t, himself to that nmnber ; for he observed that a prophet, being peculiarly gifted and privileged, was not bound to restrict himself to the same laws as or- dinary mortals. His first choice was made within a month after the death of Cadijah, and fell upon a beautiful child named Ayesha, the daughter of his faithful adherent, Abn Beker. Perhaps he sought, by this alliance, to grapple Abu Beker still more strongly to his side ; he being one of the bravest and most popular of his tribe. Ayesha, however, was bnt seven years of age, and, though females a bloom and ripen in those eastern climes, she 110 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. was yet too young to enter into the married state. He was merely betrothed to her, therefore, and postponed their nuptials for two years, during which time he caused her to be careftiUy instructed in the accomplishments proper to an Arabian maiden of distinguished rank. Upon this wife, thus chosen in the very blossom of her years, the prophet doted more passionately than upon any of those whom he subsequently married. All these had been previously ex- perienced in wedlock ; Ayesha, he said, was the only one who came a pure unspotted virgin to his arms. Still, that he might not be without due solace while Ayesha was attaining the marriageable age, he took, as a wife, Sawda, the widow of Sokran, one of his followers. She had been nurse to his daughter Fatima, and was one of the faithful who fled into Abyssinia from the early persecutions of the people of Mecca. It is pretended that, while in exile, she had a mysterious intimation of the future honor which awaited her ; for she dreamt that Mahomet laid his head upon her bosom. She recounted the dream to her husband Sokran, who interpreted it as a prediction of his speedy death, and of her marriage with the prophet The marriage, whether predicted or not, was one of mere expediency. Mahomet never loved Sawda with the affection be manifested for his other wives. He would even have put her away in after years, but she implored to be allowed the honor of still calling herself his wife ; proffering that, whenever it should come to her turn to share FLIGHT TO TAYEF. Ill the marriage bed, she would relinquish her right to Ayesha. Mahomet consented to an arrange- ment which favored his love for the latter, and Sawda continued, as long as she lived, to be nom- inally his wife. Mahomet soon became sensible of the loss he had sustained in the death of Abu Taleb ; who had been not merely an affectionate relative, but a steadfast and powerful protector, from his great influence in Mecca. At his death there was no one to check and counteract the hostilities of Abu Sofian and Abu Jahl ; who soon raised up such a spirit of persecution among the Koreishites, that Mahomet found it unsafe to continue in his native place. He set out, therefore, accom- panied by his freedman Zeid, to seek a refuge at Tayef, a small walled town, about seventy miles from Mecca, inhabited by the Thakifites, or Arabs of the tribe of Thakeef. It was one of the favored places of Arabia, situated among vine- yards and gardens. Here grew peaches and plums, melons and pomegranates ; figs, blue and green, the nebeck-tree producing the lotus, and palm-trees with their clusters of green and golden fruit. So fresh were its pastures and fruitful its fields, contrasted with the sterility of the neighboring deserts, that the Arabs fabled it to have originally been a part of Syria, broken off and floated hither at the time of the deluge. Mahomet entered the gates of Tayef, with some degree of confidence, trusting for protection to the influence of his uncle Al Abbas, who had possessions there. He could not have chosen a 112 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. worse place of rcftige. Tayef was one of the stroDghoIda of idolatry. Here was maintained in aJl its force the worship of El L&t, one of the female idols already mentioned. Her image of stone was covered with jewels aiul precioua stonea, the ofierin^ of her votaries ; it was believed to be iDspired with life, and the intercession of £1 L&C was implored as one of the daughters of God. Mahomet remained about a month in Taije^ seeking in vain to make proselytes among its inhabilanW. When he attempted to preach his doctrinea, hia voice was drowned by damora. More than once he was wounded by stones thrown at him, and which the faithful Zeid eat- deavored in vain to ward off. So violent did the popular fury become at last, that he was driveii fi-om the city, and even pursued fur some distaaee beyond the walls by an insulting rabble of slaves and ohildren. Thus driven ignominiously from his hoped-fijT place of refuge and not daring to return openly to his native city, he remained in the desert until Zeid should pi'ocnre a secret asylum for him among his iriends in Mecca. la this cstremi^, he had one of those visions or supernatural visitations which appear always to have occurred in lonely or agitated moments, when we may suppose him to have been in a state of mental excitement. It was after the evening prayer, he says, in a solitary place in the Valley of Naklah, between Mecca and Tayef. He was reading the Koran, when he was overheard by a passing com- VISITATION OF GENII. 113 pany of Gina or Genii. These are epiritnal beings, Home good, others bod, auil liable like man to iiitnre rewarda and ptmishmeiitB. " Hajk ! give ear ! " said the Genii one to the other. They paused and liatened as Mahomet continued to read. " Verily," said they at the end, " we have heard au admirable discourae, which directeth unto the ri^t institution ; wherefore we beUeve therein." This spiritual visitation consoled Mahomet for his expulsion from Tayef, showing that though he and hia doctrines miglit be rejected by men, they were held in reverence by Bpiritual intelli- gences. At leaat so we may infer from the mention he makes of it in the forty-sixth and seventy-second chapfera of the Koran. Thence- forward, he declared himself sent for the conver- sion of these genii as weU as of the human race. ii the KoiB. — Thebeh f in genii w B preTslent throng E«t, long before th ti ne of Msh omeL The to haunt BolitarypU •OB parliculK y towurd n Shtfflll of lonely and deurt coimtiies. Tbe Arabs auppoaed every valley and barren waata to have its tribe of genii, who were subject to a domioout spirit, and roamed fortb at night to beiet Ibe piltTim and (he traveller. WhenevBr, therefore, ihey entered a lonely valley toward the close of evening, they used to supplicatB the presiding spirit or lord of the ii under hii c IS of dust raised by nhirling eddies of nind, Tba serpents which oecasionaliy fafest hooees were thooght to be often genii, some infidels and some believers. Mahomet omtionfld his followers to be slow to kill a house serpent. 114 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. " Warn him to depart ; if he do not obey, then kill him, for it is a sign that he is a mere reptile or an infidel genius." It is fabled tiiat in earlier times, the genii had admission to heaven, but were expelled on account of their meddling pro- pensities. They have ever since been of a curious and pryinff nature, often attempting to clamber up to the constellations ; thence to peep into heaven, and see and overhear what is going on there. They are, however, driven thence by angels with flaming swords; and those meteors called shooting stars are supposed by Mahometans to be darted by the guardian angels at these intrusive genii. Other legends pretend that the earth was originally peopled by these genii, but they rebelled against the Most High, and usurped terrestrial dominion, which they maintained for two thousand years. At length, Azazil, or Lucifer, was sent against them and defeated them, overthrowing their mighty king Gian ben Gian, the founder of the pyramids ; whose magic buckler of talismanic virtue fell subsequently into the hands of King Solomon the Wise, giving him power over the spells and charms of magicians and evil genii. The rebel spirits defeated and humiliated, were driven into an obscure corner of the earth. Then it was that God created man, with less dangerous faculties and powers, and gave him the world for a habitation. The angels according to Moslem notions were created from bright gems; the genii from fire without smoke, and Adam from clay. Mahomet, when in the seventy-second chapter of the Koran, he alludes to the visitation of the genii in the Valley of Naklah, makes them give the following frank account of themselves " We formerly attempted to pry into what was transacting in heaven, but we found the same guarded by angels with flaming darts; and we sat on some of the seats thereof to hear the discourse of its inhabitants; but whoso listeneth now finds a flame prepared to guard the celestial confines. There are some among us who are Moslems, and there are others who swerve from righteousness. Whoso embraceth Islamism seeketh the true direction; but those who swerve from righteousness shall be fuel for the fire of Jehennam." r CHAPTER Xn. wAwl^ asylum being provided for MHliomet I^H^J^ ill tlic iiouse of Mutem Iba Adi, one of n^i'ifl 1''^ diHciples, he ventured to return to Mecca. Tlie supernatural visitation of genii in the Valley of NnklHli, was soon followed by a revelation far more exiraoi-dinary, and which haa ever since remained a theme of com- ment and conjecture among devont Mahometans. We allude to the famous night journey to Jerusa- lem, and thence to the Heventb heaven. The particulars of it, though given as if in the very worda of Miihoniet, rest merely on tradition ; Borne, however, cite lexts corroborative of it, scat- tered here and there in the Koran. "We do not pretend to give this vision or reve- lation in its amplitude and wild extravagance, but will endeavor to seize upon its most essential features. The night on which it occurred, ia described 8S one of the darkest and most awfully silent that had ever been known. There was no crow- ing of cocks nor barking of dogs ; no howling of wild beaala uor Looting of owla. The very wa- 116 OM£T AND Ills SnCCES30R3. , tere ceased to murmur, auil the wiuds lo whistles all Dature seemed motionleaa aud dead. In tbe mid walcbea of (he night, Mahomet whs roused by a voice crying, " Awake, tliou sleeper ! " The angel Gabriel stood before him. His forehead was clear and sereae, his complexion white aa snow, his hair floated on his shoulders ; he had wings of many dazzliug hues, and his robes were sown with pearls and embroidered with gold. He brought Mahomet a white steed of won- derful form and qualities, unlike any animal he had ever seen ; and in truth, it differs from any animal ever before described. It tiad a hutnaa fece, but the cheeks of a horse : its eyes were as jacinths and radiant as slars. It had eagle's win^ all glittering with rays of light ; and its whole form was resplendent with gems and pre- dous stones. It was a female, and from its daz- zling splendor and incredible velocity was colled Al Borak, or Lightning. Mahomet prepared to mount this supernatural steed, but as he extended his hand, it drew back and reared- " Be still, O Borak!" snid Gabriel; "respect the prophet of God. Never wert thou mounted by mortal man more honored of Allah." "O Gabriel!" teplied Al Borak, who at this time was miraculoualy endowed with speech j "did not Abraham of old, the friend of God, bestride me when he visited his son Ishraael ? O Gabriel! is not this the mediator, the inter- cessor, the author of the profession of fnith ? " "■ Even so, Borak, ihia is Mahomet Ibn THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 117 AbdHlkli, of one of the tribes of Arabia tbe Happy, and of iba true fnith. He is chief of tbe sous of Adam, the greatest of the divine leg- ates, the seal of the prophets- All creatures must have his intercession before thej cn.o enter paradise. Heaven is on lii» right hand, to be the reward of those wbo believe in him ; tbe Are of Jehetuiam is on his left hand, into which nil . shall be thrust who oppose bis doctrines." " O Gabriel ! " entreated Al Borab ; " by the faith existing between tbee and bim, prevail on him to intercede for me at the day of tbe res- urrection." " Be assured, Borak ! " exclaimed Mahomet, " that through my inlercesaion thou shait enter No sooner had he uttered these words, than the animal approached and submitted to be mounted ; then rising with Itlahomet on its baek, it soared alofl far abofe the mountains of Mecca. As they passed like lightning between heaven and earth, Gabriel cried aloud, " Stop, O Ma- homet ! " descend to the earth, and make the prayer with two infleotiona of tbe body." They alighted on the earth, and having made thet " O friend and well beloved of my sou! ! " said Mahomet; "why dost thou command me to pray in this place ? " " Because it is Mount Sinai, on which God Gommuneil with Moses." Mounting aloft, they again passed rapidly be- tween heaven and earth, until Gabriel called out 118 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCJESSORS. a second time, '* Stop, O Mahomet ! descend, and make the prayer with two inflections." They descended, Mahomet prayed, and again demanded, " Why didst thou command me to pray in this place ? " " Because it is Bethlehem, where Jesus the Son of Mary was born." They resumed their co^irse through the air, until a voice was heard on the right, exclaiming, " O Mahomet, tarry a moment, that I may speak to thee ; of all created beings I am most devoted to thee." But Borak pressed forward, and Mahomet forbore to tarry, for he felt that it was not wJth him to stay his course, but with God the all- powerful and glorious. Another voice was now heard on the left, call- ing on Mahomet in like words to tarry ; but Borak still pressed forward, and Mahomet tarried not. He now beheld before him a damsel of ravishing beauty, adorned with all the luxury and riches of the earth. She beckoned him with alluring smiles : " Tarry a moment, O Mahomet, that I may talk with thee. I, who, of all beings, am the most devoted to thee." But still Borak pressed on, and Mahomet tarried not ; considering that it was not with him to stay his course, but with God the all-powerful and glo- rious. Addressing himself, however, to Gabriel, " What voices are those I have heard ? " said he ; " and what damsel is this who has beckoned to me?" TBE NOCTUBNAL JOURXET. 119 " The first, &Iahomet, was the voice of » Jew ; hadat [hoit listened to him, all thy nation would huve beeu won Id Jiidaiain. " The second waa the voice of a Chrifltiau : hadst thou lisceued to him, thy people would have iucUued to Chriatiatiity. " The damsel was the world, with all ils riches, its vauities, and alluretnetita ; hadst thou liateued to her, thy imtiou would have chosen the pleasures of this life, rather than the bliss of eternity, aud all would have been doomed to perdition." Continuing their aerial course, they arrived at the gale of the holy temple at Jerusalem, where, alighting from Al Boi-ak, Mahomet faeCened her to the rioga where the prophela before him had faflteued her. Then entering the temple, he found there Abraham, and Moses, and Isa (Jeaus), Bsi many more of the prophets. Af^r he had prayed in company with them for a time, a ladder of light was let down from heaven, until the lower end rested on the Slmkra, or foundatiou- Btone of the sacred house, heing the slone of Jacob. Aided hy the angel Gabriel, Mahomet ascended tliia ladder with the rapidity of light- ning. Being arrived at the £rst heaven, Gabriel knocked at the gate. " Who ia there ? " was de- manded from within. " Gabriel." " Who is with thee ? " " Mahomet." " Has he received his mission ? " " He has." " Then he ia wel- come I " and (he gate was opened. The first heaven was of pure silver, and in its 120 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. regpleadent vault tlie stars are suspended by chains of gold. In eacb star au angel is placed Beutinel. to prevent the demons from scaling the aacreil iibodeR. An Mahonist entereil, an ancient man approached him, and Gabriel said. " Here is thy father Adam, pay hira reverence," Ma- bomet did so, and Adam embraced him, calling him the greatest araoog hb cbildreo, and the first among the prophets. In (his heaven were innumerable animals of all kinds, which Gabriel said were angels, wbO| under these tbrma, interceded with Allah Ibr the variouB races of animals upon earlb. Among these was a cock of dazzling whiteness, and of auch marvelous height, that bis crest touched tbe second heaven, though five hundred years' joor- ney above the iirst. This wonderful bird saluted the ear of Allah each morning with hia melndiouB cbanl. All creatures on earth, save man. are awakened by his voice, and all the fowls of his kind chant hallelujahs in emulation of his note.' 1 Then ore three to irhlcli, any Che Mojtleni doctors, God alirayH lends ■ willing ear: the voice of him vbo read* lb* Korau; or him who prsvs for pardon; tuid of this coiik who crowB (0 the glai? of the Most High. When the leat day ig uear, thoy add, Alhih will bid thU bird to vIom his wEnga knd ehaut no more. Then all the cocks on earth will cussa to tnow and their luleoce will be a sign that the great day ot judgment is impending. The Reverend Dr. Bumphwy Prideaus, Dean of Norwich, in hia Zi{/« a/'ifoAomet, accoseB him of having stolen this wnaderfiil rock from the tract Bava Bartha of the Bahyloniah Talmud, " wherein, " bsj-b he, " wa have a «lory of »ucb a prodigiOBB bird, called Zig, which, etanding with his feet on Ihe earth, reachelh up to the heavens with his head, end with the »pruidiug uf his wings, darheneth the whole orb of the THE NOCTVRNAL JOURNEY. in They now ascended Co the serand heaven. Gabriel, as before, kiiocked at the gale ; the same qiieatibiis Hiid replies were exchanged ; the door opened and they entered. This heaven was all of polished steel, and dazEling splendor. Here Ihey found Noah ; who, emhmciog Mahomet, hailed him as the greatest among the prophets. Arrived at the third heaven, they entei'ed with the same ceremonies. It was nil studded with precious stones, and too brilliant for mortal Gye!>. Here waft aeated an augel of immeasurable height, whose eyes were seventy thousand days' journey apart. He had at his command a hun* dred thousand baltalious of armed meii. Before him was spread a vast book, in whiuh he was cODliDiially writing and blotting out. « This, Mahomet," said Gabriel, " is As- rael, the angel of death, who is in the confi- dence of AlUih. In the book before him he is continually writing the names of those who are to be born, and blotting out the names of those who have lived their allotted time, and who, therefore, instantly die." They now mounted to the fourth heaven, fermod of the finest silver. Among the angels who inhabited it was one five hundred days' jour- ney in heighL His eountenance was troubled. inn, and causelh a total ertipac thereof. This bird tlio UbaJdee psraphragl od the Pttiilina ioys 'a a cock, and that ha crowB hofijre (tie Lord; and the Chaldee pBinphrnst on Joh tells flS of hia erowiug btitv momlng hclbra tho Lord, aud that God gjveth liim wisdom for ttial purpose." 1-2-2 ilASQMET ANO EIS SUCCESSORS. and rivers of leara ran fi'om his eyes. '■ This," said Gabriel, " is the Hiigel of tears, appoiuced to weep over the children of men, and to predict the evils which await them." The liflli heaven was of the finest gold. Here Mahomet was received by Aaron with embraces and congratulations. The avenging angel dwells in this heaven, and presides over the eleineut of fire. Of ull the angeb seen by Mithomet, he was ihe most hideous and terrific. ll'\3 visage seemed of copper, and was covered with wens and warts. His eyes flushed lightning, and he grasped a fluroiug lance. He sat on a throne Burronnded by flames, and before him was a heap of red-bot chains. Were he to alight upon earth in his true form, the mountains wotild be coDsumeil. the seas dried up. and all the inhabit- auls would die with terror. To him, and the angels his ministers, is intrusted the execution of divine vengeance ou inSdels and sinnei^ Leaving this awful abode, they mounted to the sixth heaven, composed of a transparent Blone, called Hasak, which may be rendered car- buncle. Here was a great angel. Composed half of snow and half of fire ; yet the snow melted not, nor was the fire extinguished. Around him a choir of lesser angels coutinually> exclaimed, "O Alia! who hast united snow and fire, unite all thy fiiitbful servants in obedienee to thy "This," said Gabriel, "is the guardian angel of heaven and earth. It is he who dispatches angels unto individuals of thy nation, to incline THE NOCTURNAL JOUSNET. 123 them ID favor of thy mission, and call them to the service of Giod ; and he will coutiuue to do so until the day of resurrection." Here waa the prophet Musa (Moses), who, hovrever, iusteud of welcomiug Mahomet with joy, aa the other prophets had done, shed tears aC sight of him. " Wherefore dost thou weep ? " inquired Ma- homet. " Because I heljold a successor, who ia destined to conduct more of his nation into par- adise than ever I could of the baclsaliding chil- dren of Israel." Mounting hence to the seventh heaven, Ma- homet waa received hy the patriarch Abraham, This blissful abode is formed of divine light, and of such tranaceudeut glory that the tongue of man caimot describe it. One of ils celestial iu- habitanls will suffice to give an idea of the rest. He surpassed the whole earth in magnitude, anil had seventy thousand heads ; each head seventy thousand mouths ; eacli mouth seventy tliousand ; each tougue spoke seven (y thousand it languages, and all these were incessantly employed in citaiiting the praises of the Most intemplating this wonderful being, Mahomet waa suddenly transported alofl to tlje lotus-tree, called Scdrat, wiiich flourishes on Ihe right hand of the invisible throne of Allali. The branches of this tree extend wider than the distance between the sun and tlie earth. Angels s than tlie sands of the sea-shurc, e beds of all the ati'eams and rivers, I'e- 124 HABOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. joice beoeAth its shade. Tiie leaves resemble the ears of ao elejilmnt ; Uiousands of immorUJ birds sport Rmong iu branches, repeating ihe eubliine verses of the Koran. Its fruits are milder than milk ami sweeter than honey. If all the creatures of God were assembled, one of these fruits would be sufficient for Iheir suste- nance. Each seed incloses a hour!, or celestial virgin, provided for the felicity of true believers. From this tree issue four rivers ; two How into the interior of paradise, two issue beyond it, and become the Nile and Euphrates. Mahomet and his celestial guide oow pro- ceeded to Al Mamour, or the House of Adora- dou ; formed of red jacinths or rubies, and aur- roonded by innumerable lampa, perpetually burn- ing. As Mabumet entered the portal, three vases were offered him, one containing wine, an- other milk, and the third, honey. He took and drank of the vnse containing milk. ** Well bast ihoa done ; auspicious is thy choice." exclaimed Gabriel. " Hadst thou drnnk of the wine, thy pieople had all gone astray." The sacred bouse resembles in form the Caaba at Mecca, and is perpendicularly above it in the seventh heaven. It is visited every day by seventy thousand angels of the highest order. They were at this very lime making their holy circuit, aud Mahomet, joining with them, walk^ round it 5«ven times. Gabriel cuuld go no further. Mahomet now traversed, quicker than thought, an immense space 1 pasiiing ttuxtugh two regions of daztling THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 125 light, and one of profound darkness. Emerging from this iiiter gloom, he was filled with awe and terror at finding liimself in the presenco of Allah, and but two bow-shots from his throne. The face of the Deity was covered with twenty thousand veils, for it would have annihilated man to look upon its glory. He put forth bin hands, and placed one upon the breast and the other upon the shoulder of Mahomet, who felt a freez- iiig chill penetrate to his heart and to tlie very marrow of Lis bones. It waa followed by a feel- ing of ecstatie bliss, while a sweetness and fra- grance prevailed around, which none can under- stand, hut those who have been in the divine presence. Maliomet now received from the Deity him- self, many of the doctrines contained in the Koran ; and fifty prayers were prescribed as the daily duty of all true believers. When he descended from the divine presence and again met with Moses, the latter demanded what Allah had required. " That I should make fifty prayers every day," " And thinkeat thou to accomplish such a task ? I have made ttje experiment before thee. I tried it with the children of Israel, but in vain ; retttrn, then, and beg a diminution of the task." Mahomet returned accordingly, and obtained a dimiuutioti of ten ptayers ; hut when he related Ilia Huccess to Moses, the latter made the same objection to the daily amount of forty. By his 12G MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. Rdvice Mahomet reliiiTied ri?pentedl;f, nntil the number was reduced to five. Moses still objeuted. " Thiiikeat thou to ex- Bct five prayers daily from tiiy people ? By Alliilj I 1 have had ex[ierieii(« with the children of librae), and such a demaud is vaia ) return, theretbre, and entreat alill further mitigation of the task." " No," replied Mahomet, " I hate already asked indulgence until I am ashamed." With these words he saluted Moses and departed. By the ladder of light he desceuded to the temple of Jerusalem, where he found Borak fas- tened as he had left her, and mounting, was borne back in an instant to the place whence he hud first been taken. Tliis account of the vision, or nocturnal jour- ney, is chiefly according to the words of the hia- torians Abulfeda, Al Bokhari, and Abu Horeira, and is given more at large in the " Life of Ma- homet," by Gagnier. The journey itself has given rise to endless commentaries and disputes among the doctors. Some aflirm that it was no mora than a dream or virion of the night ; and support their assertion by a tradition derived from Ayeaha, the wife of Mahomet, who declared that, on the night in question, his body remained perfectly still, and it was only in spirit that he mode liig nocturnal journey. In giving this tra- dition, however, they did not consider that at the time the journey was said to have taken place, Ayesha was still a child, and, tliough espoused, had not become the wife of 5Ialiomet. THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 127 Others insist that he made the celestial jour- ney bodily, and that the whole was miraculously effected in so short a space of time, that, on his return, he was able to prevent the complete over- turn of a vase of water, which the angel Ga- briel had struck with his wing on his departure. Others say that Mahomet only pretended to have made the nocturnal journey to the temple of Jerusalem, and that the subsequent ascent to heaven was a vision. According to Ahmed ben Joseph, the nocturnal visit to the temple was tes- tified by the patriarch of Jerusalem himself. " At the time," says he, " that Mahomet sent an envoy to the Emperor Heraclius, at Constantino- ple, inviting him to embrace Islamism, the patri- arch was in the presence of the emperor. The envoy having related the nocturnal journey of the prophet, the patriarch was seized with aston- ishment, and informed the emperor of a circum- stance coinciding with the narrative of the en- voy. * It is my custom,' said he, ' never to retire to rest at night until I have fastened every door of the temple. On the night here mentioned, I closed them according to my custom, but there was one which it was impossible to move. Upon this, I sent for the carpenters, who, having inspected the door, declared that the lintel over the portal, and the edifice itself, had settled to such a degree, that it was out of their power to close the door. I was obliged, therefore, to leave it open. Early in the morning, at the break of day, I repaired thither, and behold, the stone placed at the corner of the temple was 128 MAUOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. perforated, and there were vestiges of the [ where Al Borak liad been fasteoed. Tiien, said I, to thoae present, this poruil would nut have remained fixed unless Bome propbet bud been here to pray.' " Truditioua go on to say, that when Mahomet narraled his nocturnal journey to a large aasem- bly in Mecoa, many marveled yet believed, some were perplexed with doubt, but the Eoreishiies laughed it to acorn. " Tliou aayest that thou hast beeik to the temple of Jerusalem," said Abu Jahl ; " prove the truth of thy words, by giving B description of it." For a moment Mahomet was embarrassed by the demand, far he had visited the temple in the uigbc, when its form was not diacernible ; sud- denly, however, the anget Gabriel stood by his side, and placed before his eyes an eiaet type of the sacred edifice, so that he was enabled in- stautly to answer the most minute questions. The story still transcended (ho belief even of some of his disciples, until Abu Beker, seeing them wavering in their faitli, and in danger of bsckaliding, rouudly vouched for the truth of it ; in reward for which support, Mahomet gave him the title of Al Seddek, or the Testilier to the Truth, by which he was the uce forth distin- guished. As we have already observed, this nocturnal journey rests almost entirely upon tradition, though some of its circumstances are vaguely alluded to in the Koran. The whole may be a fanciful superstructure of Moslem fanatica on THE NOCTURNAL JOVBNEY. 129 one of these visions or ecstasies to which Mci- hornet was prone, and the relatious of which caused him to be stigmatized by the KoreiaUitea Mahnmet makes Con CHAPTER Xin. Pilgrimn from Medina. — Deter- ! — A Plot to slay him Hb Begira, oc FligbL — His Bacep- j^S|3jnE fortunes of Mahomet were bece l^^fl iiig (L-irker and darker in his native If *^^l l>1:'ce. Cadiju,h, hie original bene&c- tresa, the devoted companion of his solitude and eecluBion, the zealous heliever in his doctrines, was in her grave : bo also was Abu Taleb, once his tkithfbl and efBdent protector. Deprived c the shellering influence of the latter, Mahomet had become, in a manner, an outlaw in Mecca ; obliged to conceal himself, and remain a burthen on the hospitality of those whom his own doc- trines had involved in peraecution. If worldly advantage had been his object, how had it been attained ? Upwards of ten years ha/l elapsed since tirst he announced his prophetic mission; tea long years of enmity, trouble, and misfortune. Still he persevered, and now, at a period of life when men seek to enjoy in repose the fruition of the past, rather than risk all in new schemes the future, we find him, after having sacrificed ease, fortune, and friends, prepared to give np home and country also, rather than his rchgious creed. PROSELTTES FROM MEDINA. 131 As soon aa the privileged time of pilgrimage arrived, he emerged once more from his conceal- ment, and mingled with the multitude assembled from all parts of Arabia. Hia earnest desire was to find some powerfiil tribe, or the inhabitants of some important city, capable and willing to re- ceive him as a guest, and protect him in the en- joyment and propagation of his fitith. His quest was for a time unsuccessful. Those wbo had come to worship at the Caaba, drew back from a man stigmatized as an apostate ; and the worldly-minded were unwilling to befriend one proscribed by the powerfiil of his native place. At length, aa he was one day prejiehing on the hill Al Akaba, a little to the north of Mecca, ho drew the attention of certain pilgrims from the dty of Tathreb. This dty, since called Medina, was about two hundred and seventy miles north of Mecca. Many of its inhabitanis were Jews and heretical Christians. The pilgrims in qnea- tjon were pure Arabs of the andent and power- fid tribe of Khazradites, and in habits of friendly intercourse with the Keneeditea and Ifaderitea, two Jewish tribes inhabiting Mecca, who clmmed to be of the sacerdotal line of Aaron. The pil- grims had often hearf their Jewish iriends ex- plain the mysteries of their guth, and talk of an expected Messiah. They were moved by the eloquence of Mahomet, aad struck with the re- semblance of his doctrines to those of the Jewish law ; insomuch that when they heard him pro- clwm himself a prophet, sent by Heaven to re- store the ancient foith, they said, one to another, 13L' aOMF.T AND B!S SUCCESSORS. " Surely this niuat be tlie promised Alesaiuh of whicli we have beea told." The more tliey list- ened, the stronger became their persuiisioii of tlie fact, until in the end they avowed then- convio- tiou, and made a final profeaaion of the fiiith. As the Blhauradites belonged to one of the most powerful tribes of Yathreb, Mahomet sought to secure their protection, and proposed to ao- company them on their return ; but they informed him that they were at deadly feud wilh the Aw- sites, another powerful tribe of that dty. and advised him to defer his coming until they should be at peace. He consented ; but on the return home of the pilgrims, he scut with them Musab Tbn Ometr, one of the most learned and able of his disciples, with instructions to strengthen them in the faith, and to preach it to their townsmen. Thus were the seeds of Islamism first sown ia the city of Medina. For a time they thrived but slowly. Musab was opposed by the idolaters, and his life threatened ; but he persisted in his exer- tions, and gradually made converts among the principal inhabitants. Among these were Saad Ibu Maads, a prince or chief of the Awsites ; and Osaid Ibn Hodheir, a man of great authority in the city. Numbers of the Moslems of Mecca, also, driven away by persecution, took refuge in Medina, and aided in propagating the new faith among its inhabibmts, until it found its way into almost every household. Feeling now assm'ed of being able to give Ma- homet an asylum in the city, upwai-ds of seventy of the converts of Mediua, led by Musab Ibn COMPACT WITB TBE EMISSARIES. 133 Oraeir, repaired to Mecca with the pilgrims in the holy month of the thirteenth year of " the mis- aion," to invite him to lake up liia abode in their dty. Mahomet gave them a midnight meeting on the hill Al Akaba. His uncle Al Ahba«, who, like the deceased Abu TaJeb, took an affectionate interest in his welfare, though no convert to his doctrines, accompanied him to this seci'ot confer- eace, which he feared might lead hira into danger. Be entreated the pilgrims from Medina not to en- tice his nephew to their city until more able to protect ti'i" : warning them that their open adop- tion of the new faith would bring all Arabia in arms against them. His warnings anil entreaties were in vaia : a solemn compact was made be- tween the parties. Mahomet demanded that they should abjure idolatry, and worship the one true God openly and fearlessly. For himself he ex- acted obedience in weal and woe ; and for the diaciples who might accompany him, protection ; even such as they would render to their own wives and children. On these terms he offered to bind himself to remain among them, to be the friend of their friends, the enemy of their ene- mies. " But, should we perish in your cause," asked they, " what will he our reward ? " " Para- dise ! " replied the prophet. The terms were accepted ; the emissaries from Medina placed their hands in the hands of Ma- homet, and swore lo abide by the compact. The latter then singled out twelve from among them, whom he designated as his apostles h is supposed, of the example of 134 MAJIOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. Just then a voice was heard from tlie Bummit of the hill, denounciiig them as apostates, and mea- acing them with punishment The sound of this voice, heard in the darkness of the night, inspired. temporary dismay. " It ia the voice of die fiend Iblis," said Mahomet, acornfully ; " he is the foe of Glod ; fear him not." It was probably the voioe of some spy or eavewlropper of the Koreishit«s j for the very next morning they manifested a knowledge of what had taken place in iJie night ; and treated the new confederates with great harah- neaa as Lhey were departing from the city. It woa this early aoceasiou to the &ith, and this timely aid proffered and subsequently afforded to Mahomet and hia disciples, which procured for the Moglems of Medina the appellation of An- aarians, or atisiliariea, by which they were after- wards distinguished. AAee the departure of the Ansarians, and the expiration of the holy month, the persecutions of the Moslems were resumed with increased virti- lence, insomuch that Mahomet, seeing a crisis was at hand, and being resolved to leave the raty, ad- vised his adflerents generally to provide for their safety. For himself, he sffll lingered in Mecca with a few devoted followers. Abu Sofian, his implacable foe, was at this time governor of the city. He was both incensed and alarmed at the spreading growth of the new &ith, and held a meeting of the chief of the Koreiskites to devise some means of effectually putting a stop to it Some advised that Mahome.t should bo banished the city; but it was objected that he A PLOT FRU8THATED. 135 might gain oilier tribes to his interest, or perhaps the people of Medina, and return at their head to take hia revenge. Others proposed to wall him up in a dungeon, and supply him with food untJ he died ; but it was surmised that his friends might effect hia escape. All these objectioua were rdsed by a violent and pragmatia-d old man. a stranger from the proyince of Nedja, who, say the Moslem writers, was no other than the deyi] in disguise, breathing his malignant spirit into those present. At length it was declared by Abu Jahl, that the only effectual check on the growing evil wag to pat Mahomet to death. To this all agreed, and as a means of sharing the odimn of the deed, and withstanding the vengeance it might awaken among the relatives of the victim, it was arranged that a member of each family should plunge his sword into the body of Mahomet. It is to this conspiracy that allusion is mode in the eighth chapter of the Koran. " And call to mind how the unbelievers plotted against thee, that they might either detain thee in bonds, or put thee to death, or expel thee the dty ; but God laid a plot against them ; and God is the best layer of plots." In fact, by the time the murderers arrived be- fore the dwelling of Mahomet, he was apprised of the impending danger. As usual, the warning is attributed to the angel Gabriel, hut it is prob- able it was given by some Koreishite, less bloody- minded than his confederates. It came just in time to save Mahomet from the hands of his They paused at hia door, but heaitaWd I3G MAtlOHF.T AND BIS SCCCESSOHS to euttr. Looking through a wevice they beheld, as they thought, Mahomet wnipped in his green mantle, aod lying asleep on his couch. They waited for a while, consulting whether to fell on him while sleeping, or wait until he should go forth. At length they burst open the door and rushed toward the couch. The sleeper started up ; but, instead of Mahomet, Ali stood before them. Amazed and confounded, they demanded, "Where is Mahomet?" "I know not," replied All, sternly, and walked forth ; nor did any one venture to molest him. Enraged at the escape of their viutim, however, the Koreiahites pro- olaimed a reward of a hundred camels to any one who should bring them Mahomet alive or dead- Divers accounts are given of the mode in which Mahomet made his escape from the house after the faithtnl All had wrapped himself iu his mantle and taken his place upon the coach. The most miraculous account is, that he opened the door silently, as the Eoreishites stood before it, and, scattering a handful of dust in the air, cast sooh blindness upon them, that he walked through the midst of them without being perceived. This, it is added, is confirmed by the verse of the 30th chapter of the Koran : " We have thrown blind- ness upon them, that they shall not see." The most probable account is, that he clambered over the wall in the rear of the house, by the help of a servant, who bent his hack for him to step upon it. He repaired immediately to the house of Aba Beker, and they arranged for instant flight. It TEE HEGIIiA. 137 was agreed that tiiey should take refuge in a. cave in Mumit Thor, about an hour's di-tanw from Meeca, and wnit there until they could proceed safely to Medina: and in the meantime the chil- dren of Abu Beker should secretly bring them food. Tliey left Mecca wliile it was yet dark, making their way on foot by the light of the stars, and the day dawned as they found themselves at the foot of Mount Thor. Scarce were they within the cKTs, when they heard the sound of pnrsuit Abu Beker, though a brave man, quaked with fear. " Our pursuers," said he, " are many, and we are but two." " Nay," repUed Mahomet, "there is a third; God is with ns ! " And here the Moslem writers relate a miracle, dear to the minds of all true believers. By the lime, say they, that the Koreishltes reached the mouth of the cavern, an acada-ti'ee had sprung up before L the spreading branches of which a pigeon its eggs, hod made its nest, and laid il whole a spider had woven ii Koreishites beheld these s! quiet, they concluded that n have entered the cavern ; 8( and pursued their search in i Whether protected by miracle or not, the fegitives remained for three days undiscovered in the cave, and Asama, the daughter of Abu Beker, brought them food in the dusk of the id over the When the ns of nndistnrbed one could recently ihey turned away, ither direction. On the fourth day, when they presumed the ardor of pursuit had abated, the fii be angry with Ab- dallah, and refused to take the share of the booty ofTered to him. Confiding in the vagueness of his instructions, he insisted that he had not commanded Abdallah to shed blood, or commit any violence during the holy month. The clamor still continuing, and being echoed by the Koreishites of Mecca, produced the follow- ing passage of the Koran : — " They will ask thee concerning the sacred month, whether they may make war therein. Answer : To war therein is grievous ; but to deny God, to bar the path of God against his people, to drive true believers from his holy temple, and to worship idols, are sins far more grievous than to kiU m the holy months." 160 MAIWilEr AND EIS SUCCESSQES. Having thus prodaimed dlyjne sanction for the deed, Miiliomet no longer hesitated U> take his share of the booty. He delivered one of the priaonera ou ransom ; the other embraced Zs- lamism. The above passage of the Koran, however satisfactory it may have been to devout Moslems, will scarcely serve to exculpate their prophet in. the eyes of the profane. The expedition of Abdalluh Ibn Jasch was a and practical illustra- tion of the new reli^on of the sword. It con- templated not merely an act of plunder and revenge, a venial act in the eyes of Arabs, and justified by the new doctrines by being eserdsed against the enemies of the faith, but an outrage also on the Lo!y month, that period sacred from time immemorial against violence and bloodshed, and which Mahomet himself professed to hold in reverence. The craft and secrecy also with which the whole was devised and conducted, the sealed letter of instructions to Abdallah, ta be opened only at the end of three days, at the scene of projected outrage, and couched in language vague, equivocal,yet sufficiently significant to the agent; all were in direct opposition to the conduct of Mahomet in the earlier part of hia career, when he dared openly to pursue the path of doty, " though the sun should be arrayed against him on the right hand, aud the moon on the left;" all showed that he was conscious of the turpitude of the act he was authorizing. His disavowal of the violence committed by Abdallah, yet hia bringing the Koran to bis aid to enable bim to profit by it ABSOLVING REVELATION. 161 with impunity, give still darker shades to this transaction ; which altogether shows how imme- diately and widely he went wrong the moment he departed from the benevolent spirit of Chris- tianity, which he at first endeavored to emulate. Worldly passions and worldly interests were fest getting the ascendency over that religious en- thusiasm which first inspired him. As has well been observed, " the first drop of blood shed in his natme in the Holy Week, displayed him a man, in whom the slime of earth had quenched the holy flame of prophecy." VOL. I. 11 CHAPTER XVn. The Battle of Beiiet, SjN tho second year of the Hegira, Ma- homet received intelligence Ihat his aroh J foe, Abu Sofian, with a troop of thirty horsemen, was condiictitig back to Mecca a cara- van of a thousand camels, laden with the mer- chandise of Syria. Their route lay through the intry of Medina, between the range of mooa- tains and the sea. Mahomet determined to intercept them. About the middle of the month. Bamadhan, therefore, he sallied forth with three hundred and fourt^eu men, of whom eigh^-three e Mohitdjerins, or exiles from Mecca ; sixty- one Awsites, and a hundred and seventy KhaE- nidites. Each troop had iU own banner. There I horses in this little army,^ but "The Arabs of the desert," eajii BurckhBrdt, "are not 1 Id horaes. Among the greitt tribea oa the Red Sea, be- id Mecca, and lo the ninth and southeaat of Mueca, »a (ar as YemcQ, horaea are very scarce, aapecially IB of the mountainous diatriots. The settled inhab- ilBDls of Hedju and Temeu are not much in the habit of kcf piDR horses. The Ijibes most rich in hoisen are IhajK vho dwell in the compantiveli- fertile plains of Mesopotamia, on the banks of the river Euphrates, and on the Srrian plains." — BHntkardi. ii. m. TBE BATTLE OF BEDER. 1G3 there were seventy fleet camels, which the troop mouated by turns, bo aa to make a Kipid march without much iatague. Othman Ibii Affjn, the aon-in-law of Mahomet, was now returned with his wife Rokaia fi'om their exile in Abyssinia, and would have joined the en- terprise, but his wife was iD almost unto death, BO that he was obliged reluctiuitly to remain in. Medina. Mahomet for a while took the main road to Mecca, then leaving it to the left, turned toward the Bed Sea and entered a fertile valley, watered by the brook Beder, Kere he laid ia wait near a ford, over which the caravans were accustomed to pass. He caused bis men to dig a deep trench, and to divert the water therein, so that they might resort thither to slake their thirst, out of reach of the enemy. In the meantime, Abu Sofian having received early intelligence that Mahomet had sallied forth to waylay him with a superior force, dispatched a messenger named Omair, on a fleet dromedary, to summon instant relief from Mecca. The messen- ger arrived at the Caaba haggard and breathless. 'Abu Jahl mounted the roof and sounded the alarm. All Mecca was in confusion and couater- aation. Henda, the wife of Abu SoHan, a woman of a fierce and intrepid nature, called upon her fether Otha, her brother Al Walid, lier imcle Shaiba, and all the warriors of her kindred, to arm and hasten to the relief of her husband. The brothers, too, of the Koreishite slain by Ab- dallah Ibn .lascb, in the Valley of Naklah, seized 16. MAH0.1{ET A.VD BIS SUCCESSORS. their weapous to avenge his death. Motivee of intereBt were mingled with eagemesa for ven- geance, for most of the Koreishitea bod property embarked in tlie caravan. In a little while a force of one huiidi-ed. horse and seven hundred camels hurried forward on the road toward Syria. It was led by Abu Jahl, now threescore and ten years of age, a veteran warrior of the desert, who still retained the fire, and almost the vigor and activity of youth, combined with the rancor of old age. While Abu Jahl, with his forces, was hurrying on in one direction, Ahu Sofian was approaching in another. On arriving at the region of danger, he preceded his caravan a considerable distance, carefiilly regarding every track and footprint. At I length he came upon the track of the little army of Mahomet. lie knew it train the size of the kemela of the dates, which the troops ha IP /^^U the restless chief of the Koreishit^s, formed a confederacy with the Arah (ribe of Ghataian and other tribes of the desert, as well as with many of the JewH of the race of Nadher, whom Mahomet had driven from their homes. The trace being ended, he prepared (o march upon Medina, with these confederates, their com- I bmed forces amounting to ten thousand men. Mahomet Lad early intelligence of the medit- I ated attack, but his late reverse at Ohod made him I wary of taking the field against such numbers ; especially as he feared the enemy might have I secret allies in Medina ; where he distrusted the f Jewish inhahitania and the Hypocrites, the par- L tiaans of Abdallah Ibn Obba, who were numerous and powerfnl. Great exertions were now made to put the city in a state of defense. Salman the Persian, I who had embraced thff iaith, advised that a deep 206 MAnOMKT AND HIS SUCCESSORS. moat should be iligged at some diBtanoe beyond the wftU, ou the Bide on which the enemy would approach. This mode of defense, hitherto unuaed in Arabia, was eagerly adopted by Mahomet; who set sl great number of men to dig the moat, and even assisted personally m the labor. Many miracles are recorded of him during tlie progress of this work. At one time, it is said, he fed a great multitude irom a single basket of dates ; which remained full after all were satisfied. At another time he feasted a thousand men upon a roasted lamb and a loaf of barley bread ; yet enough remained for all his fellow-laborers in the moaL Nor must we omit to note the wonderfol blows which he gave to a rock, with an iron mal- let ; striking oif sparks which in one direction lighted up all Yemen, or Arabia the Happy ; in another, re^'ealed the imperial palace of Constam- lanople ; and in a third, illumined the towers of the royal residents of Persia ; all signs and por- tents of the future conquests of Islam. Scarcely was the moat completed when the enemy appeared in great force on the neighboring hills. Leaving Ibu mm Mactum, a trusty officer, to command in the city, and keep a vigilant eye on the disaffected, Mahomet sallied forth with three thousand men, whom he formed in battle array, having the deep moat in front Abu Sofian advanced confidently with his com- bined force of Koreishites and Ghata&nitea, but was unexpectedly checked by the moat, and by » galling tire from the Moslems drawn up beyond it. The enemy now encamped; the Koreisbites BATTLE OF THE MOAT. 207 * hi Ihe lower part of the valley, and the Ghata- fenitefi, in Ihe upper ; and for Bome days the ies remained on each side of the moat, keep- ing up a distant combat with slings and stones, and flights of arrows. In the meantime, spies brought word to Ma- homet that a Jewish tribe, the Beni Koraida, who a strong oistle near the city, and had made a covenant of peace with him, were in secret league widi the enemy. He now saw the difficulty, with hig scanty ibrces, to man the whole ext«ut of the moat ; to guard against a perfldioua attack a the Eoraidites; and to maintain quiet in the dty, where the Jews must have secret confeder- ateB. Summoning a. coimdl of war, he consulted I with his captains on the policy of bribing the Ghatafanites to a separate peace, by offering them a third of the date-harreat of Medina. Upon this, Saad Ibn Moad, a stout leader of the Aw- I of Medina, demanded : " Do yon propose , this by the command of Allah, or is it an idea of I your own ? " "If it had been a command of I Allah," replied Mahomet, " I should never Lave I Bsked your advice. I see you pressed by enemies I every side, and I seek to break their con- [ federaey." " prophet of God I " rejoined Saad, "when we were iellow-idolaters with these peo- [ pie of Ghatafan, they got none of onr dates I ■without paying for them ; and shall we give them L up gratuitously now liat we are of tlie true faith, and led by Uieo ? No, by Allah 1 if they want our dates they must win them with their swords." The stout Saad had his courago soon put to 208 MAUOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOIt^ the proof. A prowling party of Kore horsemen, among whom was Akrema the s Abu Juhl, and Amru, uude of Mahomet's first wife Cailijah, discovered a. place where the moat i was narrow, and putting spurs to their steeds auo- I oeeded in leaping over, followed by some of their I comrades. They then challenged the bravest of the Moslems to equal combat. The challenge was accepted by SaaJ Ibn Moad, by All, and several uf their companions. Ali had a close combat with Amru ; they fought ou horseback and OIL foot, until, grappling with each other, they rolled iu the dust. In the end, Ali was victorious | and slew his foe. The general conflict waa inam< tained with great obstinacy ; several were slain on both sides, and Sand Ibn Moad was severely wouuded. At length the Koreishites gave vray, and spurred their horses to recross the moaC The steed of one of them, Nawfal Ibu Abdallah, leaped short; his rider was assailed with stones while in the moat, and defied the Moslems to attack him with nobler weapons. In an instant Ali sprang dowu into iJie moat, and Naw&l soon fell beneath his sword. Ali then joined his com- panions in pursuit of the retreating foe, and . wounded Akrema with a javelin. The skirmish i was dignified with the name of the Battle of the Mahomet, still unwilling to venture a pitched battle, sent Rueim, a secretly converted Arab of tlie tribe of Ghatafau, to visit the camps of the confederates, and artfully to sow dissensions among tJiem. Eueim fii-st repaired to the Ko- I DJSsj'':ysioNS of the coti federates. 209 raidites, with whom he was in old habiM of friend- ship. " What folly ia this," said he, " to suffer yourselves to be drawn by the Koreishites of Mecca iuto their quarrel. Bethink you how dif- fereut is your aituatioa from theirs. K defeated, they have only to retreat to Mecca, and he secure. Their allies from the desert will also retire to their distant homes, and you will he left to bear the whole brunt of the vengeance of Mahomet and the people of Medina. Before you make common cause with them, therefore, let them pledge themselves and give hostages, never to draw hack until they have broken the power of Mahomet." He then went ta the Koreishites and the tribe of Ghatafan, and warned them against confiding in the Jews of Koraida, who intended to get hostages from them, and deliver them up into the hauds of Mahomet. The distrast thus artfidly sown among the con- federates soon produced its effects. Abu Sofian sent word on Friday evening, to the Koraidites, to be ready to join next morning in a general assault. The Jews replied, that the following day was their Sabbath, on which they could not engage iii battle ; at the same time they declined to join in any hostile act, unless their allies should give hostages to stand by them to the end, The Ex)reishites and Ghatafanites were now convinced of the perfidy of the Koraidites, and dared not venture upon the meditated attack, leat these should fall upon them in the rear. While they lay idly in their camp a cold storm came oa, 210 iVABOMET AND BIS SCCCESSORB. with drenching rain, and sweeping blasts from the desert. Their tents were blown down ; thar camp-fires were exUDgiiished ; in the midst of the uproar the alarm was given that Mahomet had raised the storm hy encliantment, and was coming upoQ them with his forces. All now was panic and confitaion. Abu Sotian, finding all efforts vain to produce order, mounted his camel in des- pair, and gave the word to retreat. The confed- erates hurried off from the scene of tumult and terror, the Koreishites towards Mecca, the others to their homes in the desert. Abu Sofian, in rage and mortification, wrote & ' letter to Mahomet, upbraiding him with his c ardice in lurking behind a ditch, a thing unknown i in Arabian war&re ; and threatening to take his I revenge on some fiiture day, when they might i meet in open fight, as in the field of Ohod. ~ ' hornet hurled back a defiance, and predicted that j the day was approaching when he would break in pieces the idols of the Koreishites. The invaiiera having disappeared, Mahomet turned to take vengeance on tbe Beni Kormda; who shut themselves up in their castle, and with- stood a siege of many days. At length, pinched by famin e, they implored the intercession of thor- ancient friends and protectors, the Awsites. The latter entreated the prophet to grant these He- brews the same terms he had formerly granted to the Beni Kainoka, at the prayer of Abdallflh the Elazradite. Mahomet reflected a moment, and offered to leave their fata to the decision of Saad Ibn Moad, the Awsite chief. The Koraidites VENGEANCE ON THE BENI KORAIDA. 211 gladly agreed, knowing him to have been formerly their friend. They accordingly surrendered them- selves, to the number of seven hundred, and were conducted in chains to Medina. Unfortunately for them, Saad considered their perfidious league with the enemy as one cause of the recent hostil- ity. He was still smarting with the wound received in the battle of the Moat, and in his moments of pain and anger had repeatedly prayed that his life might be spared to see vengeance wreaked on the Koraidites. Such was the state of his feelings when summoned to decide upon their fate. Being a gross, full-blooded man, he was with difficulty helped upon an ass, propped up by a leather cushion, and supported in his seat until he arrived at the tribunal of justice. Before as- cending it, he exacted an oath from all present to abide by his decision. The Jews readily took it, anticipating a favorable sentence. No sooner was he helped into the tribunal, than, extending his hand, he condemned the men to death, the women and children to slavery, and their effects to be shared among the victors. The wretched Jews looked aghast, but there was no appeal. They were conducted to a public place since called the Market of the Koraidites, where great graves had been digged. Into these they were compelled to descend, one by one, their prince Hoya Ibn Ahktab among the number, and were successively put to death. Thus the prayer of Saad Ibn Moad for vengeance on the Koraid- ites was fully gratified. He witnessed the exe- 212 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. cution of the men he had condemned, but Buch i was Ilia excitement that liis wound broke otwj afresh, and he died Bhortly afterwards. In the castle of Koraida was found s quantity of pikes, lances, cuiraases, and armor ; and ita lands were covered with flocks anij herds aud camela. In dividing the apoU each footJ^ soldier had one lot, each horseman three ; two fotB his horse, and one for himself. A fifth |)art of ■ the whole was set apart for the prophet. The most precious prize in the eyes of Mahoc was Rihaua, daughter of Simeon, a wealthy ancH powerful Jew ; aud the most beautiful female of| her tribe. He took her to himself and, hftvin|^ converted her to the faith, added her to the numbet^ of his wives. But, though thus ausceptible of the charmB of ■ the Israetitish women, Mahomet became more more vindictive in his hatred of the men j longer putting faith in their covenants, and t pecting them of the moat insidious attempts apo his life. Moslem writers attribute to the speUa o Jewish sorcerers a long and languisliiiig illnes^ with which he was afflicted about this time, s which seemed to defy all remedy. They describi the very charm by which it was produced. was prepared, say they, by a Jewish necromanee from the mountains, aided by his daughters, were equally skilled in the diabolic art They" formed a small waxen effigy of Mahomet ; wound round it some of his hair, and thrust through it eleven needles. They then made eleven knots in 3 bowstring, blowing with their breaths o ths on each}.^^B THE AMULET8. 213 and, winding the string round the effigy, threw the whole into a well. Under the influence of this potent spell Maho- met wasted away, until his friend, the angel Gabriel, revealed the secret to him in a vision. On awaking, he sent Ali to the well, where the image was discovered. When it was brought to Mahomet, continues the legend, he repeated over it the two last chapters of the Koran, which had been communicated to him in the recent vision. They consist of eleven verses, and are to the fol- lowing purport. In the name of the all merdftd God ! I will fly for refiige to the Lord of the light of day. That he may deliver me from the danger of beings and things created by himself. From the dangers of the darksome night, and of the moon when in eclipse. From the danger of sorcerers, who tie knots and blow on them with their breadth. From the danger of the envious, who devise deadly harm. I will fly for reftige to Allah, the Lord of men. To Allah, the King of men. To Allah, the God of men. That he may deliver me from the evil spirit who flies at the mention of his holy name. Who suggests evil thoughts into the hearts of the children of men. And from the evil Grenii, and men who deal in magic. At the repetition of each one of those verses, says the legend, a knot of the bowstring came 214 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESaOBS. loose, a needle fell firom the effigy, and Mahomet gained strength. At the end of the eleventh verse he rose, renovated in health and vigor, as one restored to freedom after having been bound with cords. The two final chapters of the Koran, which comprise these verses, are entitled the amulets, and considered by the superstitious Moslems effectual talismans against sorcery and magic charms. The conduct of Mahomet in the affair narrated in this chapter, has been censured as weak and vacillating, and deficient in military decision, and his measures as wanting in true greatness of mind, and the following circumstances are adduced to support these charges. When threatened with violence from without, and perfidy from within, he is for bribing a part of his confederate foes to a separate peace ; but suffers himself to be, in a manner, hectored out of this crafty policy by Saad Ibn Moad; yet, subsequently, he resorts to a scheme still more subtle and crafty, by which he sows dissension among his enemies. Above all, his conduct towards the Jews has been strongly reprobated. His referring the appeal of the Beni Koraida for mercy, to the decision of one whom he knew to be bent on their destruction, has been stigmatized as cruel mockery; and the massacre of those unfortunate men in the market-place of Medina, is pronounced one of the darkest pages of his history. In fact, his conduct towards this race from the time that he had power in his hands forms an exception to the general tenor of his DETESIOSATIOJf OF BIS CHARACTER. 215 disposition, which was forgiving and humane. He may have been eBpeciaUy provoked against them by proofs of treachery and deadly rancor on their part ; but we see in this, as in other parts of his policy in this part of his career, instances of that worldly alloy which at times was debasing his spirit, now that he bad become the Apostle of the Sword, CHAPTER XXrV. Mahomet undertakes « Pilgrimaga to Mecca. — E™de» tEliBJed and a Troop or Home sent ngainet bim. — Encamps near Mecea. ^- Hegotiales with ihe Koroiahites for Ponnia- lion to enter and complete bis PitgrimBge. — Treaty for ten Years, by whioh ho it penoilted to make a yearly Visit of tbree Days. — He returaa to Uedina. jB^^ilX years had now elapsed since ite flight K>?^ of Mahomet from Mecca. As that city |^Sj£g^ was sacred in the eyes of the Arabs aud their great point of pilgrimage, his long exik from it, and hia open warfere with the Koreishites, who had charge of the Caaba, prejudiced him in the opiuion of many of the tribes, and retarded the spread of his doctrines. His followers, too, who had accompanied him in his flight, langoished once more to see their niitive home, and there was danger of their faith becoming enfeebled under a protracted exile. Mahomet felt more aud more the importance of linking the sacred city with bis religion, and miunliuuiug the ancient usages of bis race. '" udes, he claimed but to be a reformer, anxious to restore the simplicity and purity of the patriarchal &ith. The month Doul Kaada was at hand, the month of pilgrimage, when there wa wtu'tare, and enemies might meet in peace within the holy boundaries. A timely vision assured Kb. : TO MECCA. 217 Mahomet that he and hia followera might safely arail themselvea of the profection of this vener- able custom to revisit the ancient shrines of Arabian worship. The revelation was jojflilly received by his followers, and in the holy month he set forlli from Medina on his pilgrimage, at the head of fourteen hundred men ; partly Mo- hadjerins or Fugitives, and partly Ansariana or Auxiliaries. They took with them seveuty camels to he slain in sacrifice at the Caaba. To manifest publicly that they came in peace and not in war, tiiey halted at Dsu Huteifii, a village about a day's journey from Medina, where they laid aside all their weapons, excepting their sheathed swords, and thence continued on in pilgrim garb. ■ of ( movement had reached Mecca. The Koreishites, suspecting hostilities, sent forth Kbaled Ibn Waled with a powerful troop of horse, to take post in a valley about two days' journey from • Mecca, and clieck the advance of the Moslems. Mahomet, hearing that the main road was thus barred against him, took a rugged and diffi- cult route through the deliles of the mountains, and, avoiding Khaled and his forces descended into the plain near Mecca ; where he encamped at Hodwba, within the sacred boundaries. Hen(» he sent assurances to the Koreishilea of hia peace- able intentions, and claimed the immunities and rights of pilgrimage. Envoys from the Koreishites visited his camp to make observations. They were struck with 1 which he was regarded by his 218 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSOJiS. followerB, The water with which he perfbnned his ablutions became eonctified ; a bail falling from his head, or the poriog of a niul, was caught up as a preciouB relic One of the envoys, in the course of oonTeraation, unconsdously touched the flowing beard of the prophet ; he was thruet bock by the disciples, and warned of the impiety of the act. In making hia report to the Koreishiles on bia retnnig " I haye seen the king of Persia, and the emperor of Constantinople, surrounded by [beir courts," said he, " but never did I behold a sovereign no revered by hia subjects, as is Ma- homet by liis followers." The Koreishites were the more loth to admit into their city an adversary to their sect, so for- 1 bb influence over the minds and afieo- s of his fellow-men. Mahomet sent repeated i to treat for a safe access to the aacred shrines, but in vain. Otbman Ibn Affan, his son- • in-law, was his last envoy. Several days elapsed without his return, and it was rumored that ha was slain. Mahomet detemuned to revenge his £dl. Standing under a tree, and summoning his people around him, he eKacted an oath to defend him even to the death, and never to desert the standard of the taith. This ceremony is known among Mahometans, by the name of the Spoa- taneous Inauguration. The reappearance of Othman in the camp, re- stored tranquillity. He was accompanied by Solbail, an ambassador from the Koreisbites, to arrange a treaty of peace. They perceived the impolicy of warring with a man whose power was .^^ TREATY OF PEACE. 219 incessantly increasing, and who was obeyed with such fcmatic devotion. The treaty proposed was for ten years ; during which time Mahomet and his adherents were to have free access to Mecca as pilgrims, there to remain, three days at a time, in the exercise of their religious rites. The terms were readily accepted, and Ali was employed to draw up the treaty. Mahomet dic- tated the words. " Write," said he, " these are the conditions of peace made by Mahomet the apostle of God." "Hold! "cried Solhail, the ambassador, " had I believed thee to be the apostle of Grod, I should never have taken up arms against ihee. Write, therefore, simply thy name, and the name of thy father." Mahomet was fein to comply, for he felt he was not suffi- ciently in force at this moment to contend about forms ; so he merely denominated himself in the treaty, Mahomet Ibn Abdallah (Mahomet the son of Abdallah), an abnegation which gave some little scandal to his followers. Their discontent was increased when he ordered them to shave their heads, and to sacrifice on the spot the camels brought to be offered up at the Caaba, as it showed he had not the intention of entering Mecca; these rites being properly done at the conclusion of the ceremonials of pilgrimage. They reminded him of his vision which promised a ssrfe entrance of the sacred city ; he replied, that the present treaty was an earnest of its fulfillment, wnich would assuredly take place on the following year. With this explanation they had to content them- 220 ^fABOMET AND HIS BUCCESaORS. selves ; and having performed the oeremonj, and made the sacrifice prescribed, the camp was broken up, and the pilgrim host returned, some- what disappointed and dejected, to Medina. I CHAPTER XXV. Kspedition sgninst the City of Khobar i Siege. — Eiploits of Hshomet'sCBptaioB. — Battle or Ali and Marhab.— Storm- ing of the Citadel. — Ali makes ■ Bucklar of the Gale. — Capture of the Place. — Mahomet poiBonsd; be roniries Saflya, a Captive i also Onuu Habiba, e, Widuw. console his followers for the check heir religions devotion had experienced I Alecca, Mfthomet now set ou foot an expedition cftlculated to gratify thut love of plunder, which began to rival fanaticiam in at- taching them to his standard, About live days' journey to the northeast of Medina, was situated the city of Kha'ibar, aad its dependent torrilory. It waa inhahited by Jews, who had grown wealthy by commerce, as well as agricultiu^. Their rich domain was partly cultivated with grain, and planted with groves of pfllm-lrees ; partly devoted to pas- turage and covered with flocks and herds ; and it was fbrlified by several castles. So venerable was its antiquity, that Abulfeda, the Arabian historian, assures us that Moses, af\er the passage of the Red Sea, sent an army against the Amole- kites, inhabiting Gothreb (Alediua), and the strong city of Eliuibar. Tliis region had become a place of refuge for 22a MAnOMET Af!D S/S SUCCESSORS. the hostile Jews, driven by Mahomet from Me- dina and ils environs, and for all those wbo had made tliBmselves obnosious to his vengeance. These circnmBlances, together with ila teeming wealth, pointed it out as a fit and ripe object for that warfare which he had declared against all enemies of the faith. In the beginning of the seventh year of ihe Hegira, he departed on au expedition against Klialbar, at the head of twelve hundred foot and two hundred horse, accompanied hj Abu Beker, hj Ali, b; Omar, and other of his principal officers. He had two standards { one representing the san, ihe other a black eagle ; which last became &- moua in after years aa the standard of Khaled. Entering the fertile territory of Khaibar, he bagan his warfare by assailing the inferior castles with which it was studded. Some of these capit- ulated without making resistance ; in which cases, being considered " gifts from God," the spoils went to the prophet, to be disposed of by him the way before mentioned. Others of more strength and garrisoned by stouter hearts, had to be taken by storm. Afler the capture of these minor fortresses, Mahomet advanced against the city of KLaJbar. It was strongly defended hy outworks, and ita citadel, Ai Kamus, built on a sleep rock, was deemed impregnable, insomuch that Kenana Ibn al Rabi, the chief or king of the Datiou, had made it Ihe depository of all his treasures. The siege of this city was the moat important enterprise the Moslems had yet undertaken. SIEGE OF KBAIBAR. 223 Wben Mfthomet first cnrae in siglit of its strong and frowniiig walls, and its rock-built citadel, he is Hftid to bave put up (he following prayer : O Alliih I Lord of the seven heavens, and of all things which they cover ! Lord of the a earths, Hnd all which they sustuiii ! Lord of the evil spirits, and of all whom they lead , astray ! Lord of the winds, and of ail wiiom they scatter and disperse ! We supplicate thee to deliver into our handB this city, and all that it contains, and the riches of all its lands. To thee we look for aid against this people, and against ail the perils by which we are environed." To give more solemnity to his prayers, ho chose as his place of warship a great rock, in a atony place called Mansela, and, during all the time that be remained encamped before Kha'Ibar, made daily seven circuits round it, as are made Tonnd the Caaba. A mosque was erected on tbia rock in after times in memorial of this devout ceremonial, and it became an object of venera- ^n to all pious Moslems. The siege of the citadel lasted for some time, and tasked the skill and patience of Mahomet and his troops; as yet but little practiced in the attack of fortified phices. They sufi'ered loo from want of provisions, for the Arabs \a their hasty expeditions seldom burden themselves wilh snpplies, and the Jews on their approach bad laid waste the level country, and destroyed the palm- trees round their capital. Mahomet directed the attacks in person ; the besiegers protected themselves by trenches, and 2-24 MABOMET AND HIS successohs. brought battering-raiiia to play upon the walls; a breach was at length effected, but for several ilayH every nttompt to enier was vigorously re- pelled. Abu Beker at one time led the nssault, bearing the standard of the prophet; but, after iiglitiag with great bravery, was compelled to re- , treat. The next attack was heailed by Omar Ibu Khattab, who fought uutil the close of day with no better success. A third attack was led by Ali, whom MaLornet armed with his owu acimutar, called Dhu'l Fnliar, or the Treuehant On rauSdiug to his Lauds the sacred bantier, he prououuccd him "a mau who loveJ God and his prophet ; and whom God and hia prophet loved. A man who knew not fear, nor ever turned his hack upon a foe," And here it may be well Co give a traditional account of the person and character of Ali. He was of the middle height, hut robust and square, and of prodigious sti'ength. He had a smiling countenance, exceedingly florid, with a bushy beard. Re was distinguished for an amiable disposition, sagacious intellect, and religious zeal, and, from his undaunted courage, was surnamed the Lion of God. Arabian writers dwell with fond esaggeration on the exploits, at Khaibar, of this their favorite hero. He was clad, they say, in a scarlet vest, over which was buckled a cuirass of steeL Scrambling with his followers up the great heap of stones and rubbish in front of the breach, ha planted hia slatidard on the top, determined never to recede until the citadel was taken. The Jews EXPLOITS OF ALL 225 sallied forth to ilrive down the assailants. In the conflict which ensued, Ali fought hand to bond with the Jewish commauder, Al Harelh, whom he slew. The hrother of the slain ad- Tanced lo revenge his death. Ho was of gigan- ) tic stature ; with a double cuirass, a double tur- ban, wouad round a helmet of proof, iti front of which sparkled aa immense diamond. He had a sword girt to each side, aud brandished a three- pronged spear, like a trident. The warriors measured each other with the eye, and accosted each other in boasting oriental style. 'I," said the Jew, "am Marhab ; armed at all points ; and terrible in battle." " And I am Ali, whom his mother, at his birth, Bumamed Al Haidara (the rugged liou)." The Moslem writers make short work of the I Jewish champion. He made a thrust at Ali with his three-pronged lance, but it was dexter- ously parrifd ; and before he could recover him- '", a blow from the sciinetar Dhu'l Fakar di- vided his buckler, passed through the helm of I proof, through doubled turban and stubborn skull, I cleaving his head even to his teeth. Kb gigan- tic form fell lifeless to the earth. The Jews now retreated into the citadel, and B general assault took place. In the beat of the action the shield of Ali was severed from his arm, leaving his body exposed : wrenching a gate, however, from its hinges, he used it as a buckler through the remainder of the fight, Abu R&fe, a servant of Blahomel, testifies to the fact. " 1 afterwards," says he, " examined this MAHOMET J.Vfl HIS SUCCESSORS. vith I 3n, and all eigiil gate in compaiiy ' of us attempted in vain to wield ii Tiie citiidel being captured, every vault and dungeon was ransaclted for the wenllh said lo be deposited there by Kenana, the Jewish priaee. None being discovered, Mahomet demnuded of him where he had concealed bis treaaiire. He declared that it had all been expended in the Eubsislence of his troops, and in preparations for defense. Oue of hia faitblesa subjects, however, revealed the place where a great amount had been hidden. It did not equal the espeotations of the victors, and Kenana was put to the tor- ture to reveal the rest of liis supposed wealth. He either could not or would not malie furltier discoveries, so be was delivei-ed up to the ven- geance of a Klo^lem, whose brother he had crushed to death by a piece of millstone hurled &om the wall, and who siruck ofi* bis head with a aingle blow of his sabre.^ While in the citadel of Khaibar, Mahomet came near falling a victim to Jewish vengeanoe. ■ This stupendous fpat a recorded by the hietortnti Abnl- feda, c. 24. " Abu Rife," observoB Uibbon, " was an eye- wiCnesRi but who will be wilaesa for Abu K&feV " We join with the distioKuisbed historiaa in bis duubt;yet if we scni- pulously quMliOQ the testimony of an eye-witnesa, what will become of history ? » The Jaws inhabiting Ihe tract of oountty called Khaibar, are Btill known in Arabia by the name of Benl Eheibar. They are divided into tbrae trihes, under independent sheikhs, the Beni Menaiod, Bent Schahan, and Beni Anieraa. They are accused of pillaging the carjvflna. — Niebahr, y. I I ATTEMPT TO PO/SO:V MAHOMET. 227 Demanding aomethiHg to eat, a slioQlder of lamb was set before him. At the first mouthful he perceived something unusual in the lasle, and spat it forth, but inatautly felt acute inteniiil pail). OuD of his fullowera, named Boschar, who had eaten more freely, fell down and expired in coQVubioiis. All now W1L3 confusion and con- Hteroatiou ; ot) diligent inquiry, it was found that the lamb had been cooked by Zalnab, a fe- male captive, niece to Mai'hab, the gigiiulic war- rior alain by Ali. Being brought before Ma- homet, and charged with having infused poison into the viand, she boldly avowed it, vindicating it aa a justifiable revenge for the ills he liad brouglit upon her tribe and her family, " I thought," said she, " if thoa wert indeed a prophet, thou wouldst discover thy danger ; if but a chief- tain, thou wouldst fall, and we should be deliv' ered from a tyrant." Arabian writers are divided as to the f&te of this heroine. According to aorae, she was de- livered up to the vengeance of the relatives of Baschar, who had died of the poison. Accord- ing to others, her beauty pleaded in her behalf, and Mahomet restored her unharmed to her fam- The same writers seldom permit any remark- able event of Mahomet's life to pass without a miracle. In the present instance, they assure us that the poisoued shoulder of lamb became mi- racaloualy gifted with .speech, and warned Ma- homet of his danger. If so, it was rather slow of speech, for he had imbibed sufficient poison to 228 MAROMET AND HIS SnCCESSOBS. ii^ure bis conaiitutioQ lliroughouC the remainder of hia life ; afieuting iiim ofiea with ptiroxysius of pain i and in his last moments he complained that the veins of his he«rt throbbed with the poison of KhHibar. He experienced kinder treat- ment at the faauda of Safiya (or Sophia), anotfaer female captive, who had still greater motives fof vengeance than Zninab ; for she was the recently espoused wife of Kenana, who had jnat been sacrJAced fur his wealth, and she was the daugh- ter of Hoya Ib» Akhtab, prince of the Beni Eoraida, who, with seven hundred of hia people, had been put to death in the square of Medina, as has been related. This Safiya was of great beauty ; it is not sur- prising, therefore, that she ahouJd find instant favor iu the eyes of Mahomet, and that he should seek, as usual, to add her to his harem ; but it may occasion surprise that she should contem- plate such a lot with complacency. Moslem writers, however, explain this by assuring us that she was so pernatu rally prepared for the event. While Mahomet was yet encamped before the city, and carrying on the siege, she had a vision of the night, in which the sun descended froni the firmament and nestled in her bosom. On re- counting her dream to her husband Kenana in the morning, he smote her on the face, exclaim- ing, " Woman, you speak in parables of this Arab chief who has come against us." The vision of Safiya was made true, for having converted her with all decent hasio to the faith of Islam, Mahomet took her lu wife before he MARRIAGE WITB OMM BABIBA. 229 left Khiilbav. Their nuplinls toot place on the homeward marcti, at Al Snbba, where the army halted for three days. Abu Ayub, one of the prophet's most ardeut disciplea and marshal of hia household, patrolled arouod the nuptial lent tbruugliout the oight, Hword in hand. Safiya was one of tbe most favored wives of Mahomet, whom she BurFived for forty years of widowhood. Besides the marriages of affection which we have recorded, the prophet, about this time, made another of policy. Shortly after bis return to Medina, he was gladdened by the arrival, from Abyssinia, of the residue of the fugitives. Among these was a comely widow, thirty years of age, whose husband, Abdallah, had died while in exile. She was generally known by the name of 0mm Habiba, the mother of Habiba, from a daughter to whom she had given birth. This widow was the daughter of Mahomet's arch enemy, Abu Sofian ; and the prophet conceived that a marriage with the daughter might soften the hostility of the father ; a politic consideration, which is said lo have been either suggested or sanctioned by a revelation of a chapter of the Koran. When Abu Sofian heard of the espousals, " By heaven," exclaimed be, " this camel is so rampant, that no mnzzle can restrain him." CHAPTER XXVI. le I're [E^^HURING the residue of the year, Ma- ^^nJ liouiet remsiined at Medina, sending [ P.I£3S^ ibrih his ti'usty disciples, by this time exjierieiiced captains, od various military expe- ditions ; by which refractory tribes were rapidly brought into Bubjectioii. His views as a states- man widened as his terri lories inoreaaed. Though be professed, in cases propagate his religion by the sword, he neglectful of the peaceful meiisures of diplomacy, and sent envoys to various princes and poten- tates, whose dominions bordered on his political horizon, ifrging them to embrace the faith of Islam ; which was, in etfect, to ackoowledge him, thraugh hia apostolic office, their superior. Two of the most noted of these to Ktiosru II., King of Persia, and Heracliaa, the Roman Emperor, at Constantinople between the Romans and the Persians, for the dominion of the East, which had prevailed from time to time through several centuries, bad been revived by these two potentates with varying fui'tunes, and for several years past had distracted I MISSION TO KHOSRU. 231 I world. Countries had been oramin hy either power ; states and kiugdoins had changed hnnds under lilternale invasions, and ac- cording to tbu conquests and defeats of the war- ring parties. At one time, Khosrn with three armies, one vauutiiigly culled the Fifty Thousand Giolden Spears, had wrested Palestine, Cappado- cia, Armenia, and several otlier great and wealthy provinces from the Ronrnii emperor ; had made himself master of Jerusalem, and car- ried off the Holy Cross to Persia ; had invaded Africa, conquered Libya and Egypt, aud ex- tended his victories even to Carthage. In the midst of his triumphant career, a Moslem envoy arrived bearing him a letter from Mahomet. Khosru sent for his secretary or in- terpreter, and ordered him to read it. The letter began as follows : " In the name of the moat merciful God I Mahomet, son of Abdallah, and apostle of God, to Khosru, King of Persia." " What ! " cried Khosru, starting up in haughty indignation, " does one who is my slave, dare to put his name first in writing to me ? " So saying, he seized the letter and tore it in pieces, without seeking to know its contents. He then wrote to his viceroy in Yemen, saying, " I am told there is in Medina a madman, of the tribe of Koreish, wlio pretends to be a prophet. Restore him to his senses ; or if you cannot, send me his head." Mahomet was told how Khosru had torn his letter, " Even so," said he, " ahidl Allah rend his empire in pieces." 2.V2 MA30MET AND HIS SUCCESSOSS. Tlie letter from the prophet to HeracliuB, was more fHvorably received, reaching liim probably duriDg his reverses. It was aigaed in characters of silver, Mahomet Azmrel, Mahomet the mes- senger of Grod, and invited the emperor to re- nouDce ChristiaDity, and embrace the faith of Islam. Heraclius, we are told, deposited the epistle respectfully upon his pillow, treated the envoy with distinction, and dismissed him with magnificent presents. Engrossed, however, by his Persian wars, he paid no further attention to this mission, from one whom he probably con- sidered a mere Arab fanatic ; nor attached suffi- cient importance to his military operations, which may have appeared mere predatory forays of the wild tribes of the desert. Another mission of Mnhomet was to the Mu- kowkia, or governor of Egypt, who had originally been sent there by Heraclius to collect tribute; but who, availing himself of the confusion pro- duced by the ware between the Bomans and Per- sians, had assumed sovereign power, and nearly thrown off all allegiance to the emperor. He re- ceived the envoy with signal honor, but evaded a direct reply to the invitation to embrace the faith, observing that it was a grave matter re- quiring much consideratioti. In the meantime, he sent presents to Mahomet of precious jewels ; garments of Egyptian linen ; exquisite honey and butter ; a white she-ass, called Yafur, a white mule, called Dnidal, and a fleet horae called Lazlos, or the Prancer. The most accep- table of his presents however, were two Coptic COPTIC DAMSELS. 238 dftiBBels, Bisters, called Mariyah (or Mary), and Sbireo. The beauty of Mariyah caused great pertur- bation in the mind of the prophet. He would fain have made her his concubine, but was im- peded by his own law in the seventeenth chapter of the Koran, ordainiug that fornication should be punished with stripes. He waa relieved from his dilemma, by another revelation, revoking the law in regard to him- self alone, allowing him intercourse wilh hia handmaid. It remained in full force, however, against all other Moslems. Still, to avoid scan- dal, and above all, not to excite the jealousy of his wives, be carried on his intercourse with the beautiful Mariyah in secret; which may be one reason why she remained long a favorite. ^ CHAPTEK XXVn. i PU^mage to Mecu; hia MajrUge with M&- - Ehaled Ibn a] Waled and Amru Ibn al Aoss be- meXytes. E lime had now arrived when, hy treaty Nilh the Koreishites, Mahomet and his 1 followers were permitted to make a pil- grimage to Me(;ca,and pa£s three daya unmolested at the sacred shrines. He departed accordin^y with a numerous and well-armed host, and seventy camels for sacrifices. His old adversaries woidd faio have impeded his progress, but they were overawed, and on his approach withdrew silently to the neighboring hills. On entering the boiin»ia of Mecca, the pilgrims, according to compact and usage, laid aside all their warlike aceoutrementa excepting their swords, which they carried sheathedi Great was their joy on beholding once more the walls and towers of the sacred city. They entered the gates in pilgrim garb, with devout and thankful heurte, and Mahomet performed all tho ancient and customary rites, with a zeal and d&- votion which gratifled beholders, and drew lo hini many converts. When he had complied with all the ceremonials he threw aside the Irurn or pilgrinf b garb, and withdrew lo Sarif, a hamlet two leagnes MARRIAGE WITH MAIMUNA. 235 distant, and without the sacred boundaries. Here he had a ceremonial of a different kind to perform, but one in which he was prone to act with un- feigned devotion. It was to complete his marriage with Maimuna, the daughter of Al Hareth, the Helalite. He had become betrothed to her on his arrival at Mecca, but had postponed the nup- tials until after he had concluded the rites of pilgrimage. This was doubtless another marriage of policy, for Maimuna was fifty-one years of age, and a widow, but the connection gained him two powerful proselytes. One was Khaled Ibn al Waled, a nephew of the widow, an intrepid war- rior who had come near destroying Mahomet at the battle of Ohod. He now became one of the most victorious champions of Islamism, and by his prowess obtained the appellation of "The Sword of God." The other proselyte was Klialed's friend, Amru Ibn al Aass ; the same who assailed Mahomet with poetry and satire at the commencement of his prophetic career ; who had been an ambassador from the Koreishites to the king of Abyssinia, to obtain the surrender of the fugitive Moslems, and who was henceforth destined with his sword to carry victoriously into foreign lands the faith he had once so strenuously opposed. Note. — Maimuna was the last spouse of the prophet, and, old as she was at her marriage, survived all his other wives. She died many j'ears after him, in a pavilion at Serif, under the same tree in the shade of which her nuptial tent had been pitched, and was there interred. The pious historian, Al Jannabi, who styles himself " a poor servant of Allah, hoping for the pardon of his sins through the mercy of God," visited 236 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. her tomb on returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, in the year of the Hegira, 963, a. d. 1555. ** I saw there," said he, *' a dome of black marble erected in memory of Maimuna, on the very spot on which the apostle of Grod had reposed with her. Crod knows the truth ! and also the reason of the black color of the stone. There is a place of ablution, and an oratory; but the building has fallen to decay." CHAPTER XXVIII. I jjMONG tlie liiffereiit missions which had n sent by Mahomet beyond the bonnda I of Arabia to invite neighboring princes to erahruce hia religion, was one to the governor of Bttsra, tlie great mart on the confines of Syria, to which he had made his first caravan journey in the days of his youth. Syria had been alternately under Roman and Persian domination, but was at that time subject to the emperor, though prob- ably in a great stat« of confusion. Tlie envoy of Mahomet was slain at Muta, a town about three days' journey eastward from Jenasalem. The one who slew him was an Arab of the Christian tribe of Gossan, and son to Shorhail, SB erair, who governed Muta m the name of He- raclius. To revenge the death of his legate, and to io- snre respect to his envoys in future, Mahomet prepared to send an army of three thousand men against the offending city. It was a momentous expedition, as it might, for the first time, bring the arms of Islam in collision with those of the Roman Empire ; but Mahomet presumed upon Ids grow- L 23R MAnOMET AND SIS SUCCESSORS. ing power, the energy of hia troops, and the dia- ordered state of Syrian affairs. The command waa intrusted to his ireedman Zeid, who had given (iuc?h signal proof of devotion in surrendering to him his beautiful wife Zeinab. Several chosen officers were associated with him. One was Mahomet's cousin Jaafar, son of Abu Taleb, and brother of Ali ; the same who, by hia eloquence, had vindicated the doctrines of Islam before the kmg of Abyssinia, and defeatetl the Koreishite em- bassy. He was now in the prime of life, and noted for great courage and manly beauty. An- other of the associate officers was Abdallah Ibn Kawaha, the poet, but who had signaUzed himself in arms as well as poetry. A third was the new proselyte Khaled, who joined the expedition as a volunteer, being eager to prove by his sword the sincerity of his conversion. , The orders to Zeid were to march rapidly, so as to come opon MutH by anrpriae, to sununon the inhabitants to embrace the faith, and to treat them with lenity. Women, children, monks, and tlie blind, were to he spared at all events ; nor were any houses to be destroyed, nor trees cut down. The httle army sallied from Medina in the full confidence of coming upon the enemy unawares. On their march, however, they learned that a greatly anperior force of Romans, or rather Greeks and Arabs, waa advancing to meet them. A council of war was called. Some were for pausing, and awaiting further orders irom Ma- homet: but AljdalJah, the poet, was for pushing forward without regard to nurabera. BATTLE OF MUTA. 239 « We fight for the feith ! " cried he ; « if we faU, paradise is our reward. On, then, to victory or martyrdom ! " All caught a spark of the poet's fire, or rather, fenaticism. They met the enemy near Muta, and encountered them with fury rather than valor. In the heat of the conflict Zeid received a mortal wound. The sacred banner was falling from his grasp, but was seized and borne aloft by Jaafar. The battle thickened round him, for the banner was the object of fierce contention. He defended it with desperate valor. The hand by which he held it was struck off; he grasped it with the other. That too, was severed ; he embraced it with his bleeding arms. A blow from a scimetar deft his skull ; he sank dead upon the field, still clinging to the standard of the faith. Abdallah the poet next reared the banner ; but he too fell beneath the sword. Khaled, the new convert, seeing the three Moslem leaders slain, now grasped the &tal standard, but in his hand it remained aloft. His voice rallied the wavering Moslems : his powerful arm cut its way through the thickest of the enemy. K his own account may be credited, and he was one whose deeds needed no exaggeration, nine scimetars were broken in his hand by the fury of the blows given by him in this deadly conflict. Night separated the combatants. In the morn- ing Khaled, whom the army acknowledged as their commander, proved himself as wary as he was valiant. By dint of marches and counter- marches, he presented his forces in so many points 240 MABOHET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. of view, that the enemy were deceived as to his oamber, and supposed he had received a. strong reinforcement. At iiis first charge, tLorefore, they retreated : their retreat soon became a flight ; iD which they were pursued with great slaughter. Khaled then plundered their camp, in which was found great booty. Among the slain in the field of battle was found the body of Jaa&r, covered with wounds, but all in front. Out of respect to his valor, and to his relationship with the propliet, Khaled ordered that his corpse should not be buried on the spot, but borne back for honorable interment at Medina. The army, on its return, though laden with spoilj entered the city more like a funeral train than a triumphant pageant, and was received with mingled shouts and lamentations. While the people rejoiced in the success of their arms, l,hey mourned the loss of three of their favorite gener- als. All bewailed the fate of Jaaiar, brought home a ghastly corpse to that city whence they bad so recently seen him sally forth in all the pride of valiant manhood, the admiration of every be- holder, lie had left behind him a beautiful wifb and infant son. The heart of Mahomet woe touched by her affliction. He took the orphan child in his arms and bathed it with his tears. But most he was affected when he beheld the young daughter of his faithful Zeid approachiog him. He fell on her neck and wept in speechless emotion. A bystander expressed surprise that he should give way to tears for a death which, according to Moslem doctrine, was but a passport MOURNING FOR JAAFAR, 241 to paradise. " Alas ! " replied the prophet, " these are the tears of friendship for the loss of a friend ! " The obsequies of Jaafer were performed on the third day after the arrival of the army. By that time Mahomet had recovered his self-possession, and was again the prophet. He gently rebuked the passionate lamentations of the multitude, taking occasion to inculcate one of the most politic and consolatory doctrines of his creed. " Weep no more," said he, " over the death of this my brother. In place of the two hands lost in defending the standard of the faith, two wings have been given him to bear him to paradise ; there to enjoy the endless delights insured to all believers who fall in battle." It was in consequence of the prowess and generalship displayed by Khaled in this perilous fight, that he was honored by Mahomet with the appellation of " The Sword of God," by which he was afterwards renowned. VOL. I. 16 CHAPTER XXIX. Designs npon Jt ssion of Abu Soflui. - I^^AIIOMET, by force either of arms or B^Sigl uver a great number of the Arabiaa tribi^B. He had many thousaad warriors onder his command ; sous of the desert inured to hun- ger, thirst, and the scorching raya of the sua, and to whom war was a sport, rather than a toil. He had corrected their intemperance, disciplined their valor, and subjected them to rule. Repeated victories Iiad given them confidence in themselves and in their leader ; whose standard they followed with the i)nplicit obedience of soldiers, and the blind &naticLsai of disciples. The views of Mahomet expanded with hia means, and a grand enterprise now opened upon his mind. Mecca, his native city, the abode of his family for generations, the scene of his hap- piest years, was still in the hands of his implaca- ble foes. The Cuaha, the object of devotion and pilgrimage to all the children of Ishmael, the ahiine of his earliest worship, was stUI pro&ned by the emblems and rites of idolatry. To plant the slaudard of the faith on the walls of hia native city ; to rescue the holy house trom prof- SOMILIATWN OF ABU SOFIAN. 243 auation ; restore it to the spiritual worship of the oue true God, and make it the rallying point of lelamism, formed now the leading object of his ambition. The treaty of peace existing with the Koreish- ites was an irapedameiit to any military enter- prise 1 but some casual feuds and skirmishings aoou gave a pretext for charging them with hav- ing violated the treaty stipulations. The Koreiah- itea had by this time leai'ned to appreciate and dread the rapidly increasing power of the Moslems, and were eager to explain away, or atone tor, the quarrels and misdeeds of a few heedless individuals. They even prevailed on their leader, Abu >So£an, to repair to Medina as ambassador of peace, trusting that he might have gome influence with the prophet through his daughter, Omm Habiba. It was a sore trial to this haughty chief to come almost a suppUant to the man whom he had scoffed at as an impostor, and treated with inveterate hostility ; and his prond spirit was doomed to still further mortification, for Mahomet, judging from his errand of the weakness of his party, and being secretly beut on war, vouchsafed him no reply. Bepressing his rage, Abu Sofian sought the intermediation of Abu Beker, of Omar, and Ali ; but they all rebuked and repulsed him ; for they knew the secret wishes of MahomeL He nest endeavored to secure the fiivor of Fat- ima, the daughter of Mahomet and wife of AJi, by flattering a mother's pride, entreating her to 244 MAEOMUT AND SIS SnCCES30R3. let her sun Hasan, a child but six years old, be his protector ; but Fatima answered haughtily, " My aoti is bao young to he a protector ; aud no protection can avail against the will of the prophet of GioJ." Even hia daughter, 0mm Habiba, die wife of Mahomet, on whom Abu SoGan had cal- culated for infiaence, added to his mortificatjon, for on his offering to seat himself on a mat in her dwelling, she hastily folded it up, exclaiming, "It is the bed of the prophet of God, and too saCTed to be made the resting-place of an idolaWr." The cup of humiliation was full to overflow- ing, and in tiie bittemese of his heart Abu SoSam cursed his dunghler. He now turned agfun to Ali, beseeching his advice in the desperate state of hia embassy. " I (an advise nothing better," replied Ali, " than for thee to promise, as the head of the Ko- reiahitea, a continuance of thy protection ; and then to return to thy home." " But thinkeat thou, that promise wiU be of any avail ? " "I think not," replied Ali dryly ; " hut I know not to the contrary." In pursuance of this advice, Abu Soflan repaired to the mosque, and made public declaration, ia behalf of the Koreishites, that on their part the treaty of peace should be faithfully maintained ; after which he returned to Mecca, deeply humili- ated by tlie imperfect result of his mission. He was received with scoffs by the Koreishitea, who observed that his declaration of peace availed nothuig without the concurreace of Mahomet I CHArTER XXX Surprise mid Capture of Mecca. jjAHOIVLET n peditiou to tube Mecca by Eurprige. His allies were smnmoned. from all quarters to Medina ; but no intimation was given of tjie object he had in view. All the roads leading to Mecca were barred to prevent any intelhgence of his moyemeuta being carried to the Koreishitea. With all his precantiona the secret came near being discovered. Among his followers, fugitives from Mecca, was one named Hatob, whose iamily bad renuuned behind, and were without connections or Mends to take an interest in tJieir wel&re. Hateb now thought to gain lavor for them among the Koreishites, by betraying the plans of Maho- met He accordingly wrote a letter revealing the intended enterprise, and gave it in charge to a sing- ing woman, named Sara, a Ilaschemite slave, who underlook fo carry it to Mecca, She was already on the load when Mahomet was apprised of the treachery. Ah and five others, well mounted, were sent in pursuit of the mes- They soon overtook Let, but searched her person in vain. Most of them would have given up the search and turned back, but Ah was 246 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. confident that the prophet of God coiUd not be mistaken nor nuBiuformed. Drawing his acimetar, he swore to strike off the head of the messenger, unless the letter were produced. The threat was effectual. She drew forth the letter from among her hair. Haleb ou being t^xed with his perfidy, acknowl- edged it ; but pleaded hia anxiety to secure favor for his destitute fiitnily, and his certainty that the letter would be harmless, and of no avail against the purposes of the apostle of God. Omar spumed at his excuses and would have struck off liis head ; but Mahomet, calling to mind that Hateb had fought bravely in support of the faith in the battle of Beder, admitted his excuses and forgave him. The prophet departed with ten thousand men on this momentous euterprise. Omar, who had charge of regulating the march, and appointing the encampments, led the army by lonely passes of the mountains ; prohibiting the sound of attabal or trumpet, or anything else that could betray their movements. While ou the march, Mahomet was joined by bis uncle A) Abbas, who had come forth with his femily from Mecca, to rally under the standard of the taitb. Mahomet received faim graciously, yet with a hint at his tafdiness. " Thoa art the last of the emigrants," said he, "as I am the last of the prophets." Al Abbas sent hie &miLy forward to Medina, while he turned and accompauied the expedition. The anoy reached the vaOey of Marr Azzahran, near to die sacred city, without being discovered. It was nightfiill when they silently pitched their tents, and i CAPTUSE OF ABU 30FIAN. 247 Omar for the firat time permitted them to liglit their wat<:h-flreB. In the meantime, though AI Abbaa hnd joined lie standard of the faith in aU sincerity, yet he vas sorely disquieted at seuiog his nephew advanc- ing against Meaa, with sueh a powerfii! force and such hoaljle iul^nt ; and feared the entire deatruction of the Eoreishitee, unless they could be peraaaded in time to capitulate. In the dead of the night, he mounted Mahomet's white mule Fadda, and rode forth to reconnoitre. In skirting tibe camp, he heanl the tramp of men and sound of voices. A scouting party were bringing in two prisoners captured near the city. Al Abbas approached, and found the captives to be Abu Sofian, and one of his captmns. They were con- ducted to the walch-flre of Omar, who recognized Abu Soflan by the light. " God he praised," cried he, " that I have such an enemy in my hands, and without conditions," His ready scira- etar might have given fata! significance to his words, had not Al Abbas stepped forward and taken Abu Sofian mider his protection, until the will of the prophet should be known. Omar rushed forth to ascertain that will, or rather to demand the Hfe of the prisoner ; but Al Abbas, taking the latter up behind hiai, put spurs to his mule, and waa the first to reach the tent of the prophet, followed hard by Omar, clamoring for the head of Abu Sofian. Mahomet thus beheld in his power his inveter- ate enemy who had driven him from Mis home and oonatry, and persecuted fus family and friends ; 248 MAnOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. but he beheld in him the fiither of his wife Omm Hahibo, and felt indined to clemency. lie post- poned all deciBion in the matter until laoraing ; giving Abu Sofian in charge of Al Ahhas. When the captain waa brought before him on the following day : " Well, Abu Sofian," cried he, " is it not at length time to know that there is no other God but God ? " " That I already knew," replied Abu Sofian. " Good ! and is it not time for thee to acknowl- edge me as the apostle of God ? " " Etearer art thou to me than ray father and my mother," replied Abu Sofian, using an oriental phrase of compliment ; " bat I am not yet pre- pared to acknowledge thee a prophet." " Out upon thee 1 " cried Omar, " testify in- stantly to the truth, or thy head shall be severed from thy body." To these threats were added the counsels and entreaties of Al Abbaa, who showed himself a real friend in need. The rancor of Abu Sofian had already been partly subdued by the unexpected mildness of Mahomet; ao, making a merit of necessity, he acknowledged the divinity of hia mission ; famishing an illustration of the Moslem tnftritn^ ■' To convince stubborn unbehevers, there is iio argument like the sword." Having DOW embraced the faith, Abu Sofian obtained favorable terms for the people of Mecca, in case of their submission. None were to be harmed who should remain quietly in their houses ; or should take refuge in the houses of Abu Soflau and Hakim ; or under the banner of Abu Rawaiha. REVIEW OF TBE ARMY. 249 That Abu Sofian migltt, take back ta the city a proper idea of the force brought against it, he was stationed with Al Abbas at n narrow defile where the whole army passed iu review. Ab the various Arab tribes marched by with their dif- ferent arms and ensigns, Al Abbas esplained the name and country of each. Abu Sofian was surprised at the number, discipUne, aad equip- ment of the troops ; for the Moslems had been rapidly improving in the means and art of war ; but wheu Mahomet approached, in the midst of n djosen guard, armed at all points and gUtlering with steel, his astonishment passed all bounds. " There is no withstanding this ! " cried he to Al Abbas, with an oath — " truly thy nephew wields a mighty power." " Even so," replied the other ; " return then to thy people ; provide for their safety, and warn them not to oppose the apostle of God." Abu Sofian hastened back to Mecca, and as- aembling tbe inhabitants, told them of the mighty host at band, led on by Mahomet; of the favor- able terms offered in case of their submission, and of the vanity of all resistance. Aa Abu Sofian had been the soul of tbe opposition to Mahomet and liis doctrines, his words had instant effect in producmg acquiescence in an event which seemed to leave no alternative. The greater part of the inhabitants, therefore, prepared to witness, withoat resistance, the entry of the prophet. Mahomet, in tbe meantime, who knew not what resistance he might meet with, made a careflil distribution of his forces as he approached 250 MAHOMET A^D BIS SITCCESSOSS. the city. While the main Iwdy marched diraody forward, strong detachments advanced over tl^ hilla on each side. To Ali, who commanded a large body of cavaby, waa confided the sacred banner, which he was to plant on Mount Hadjun, and maintain it there until joined by the propheL Eipresa orders were given to all the generals to practise forbearance, and In no instance to make the first attack ; for it waa the earnest desire of Mahomet to win Mecca by moderation and clemency, rather than subdue it by violence. It ia true, all who offered armed resistance were to be cut down, but none were to be harmed who submitted quietly. Overhearing one of his cap- t^ns exclaim, in the heat of his zeal, that " no place was sacred on the day of battJe," he instantly appointed a cooler-headed commander in his The main body of the army advanced without molestaiion. Mahomet brought up the rear guard, dad in a scarlet vest, and mounted on his favorite camel Al Kaswa. He proceeded but slowly, however ; hia movements being impeded by die immense multitude which thronged around him. Arrived on Mount Hadjun, where Ali had planted the standard of the faith, a tent was pitched for him. Here he alighted, put off hia scarlet garment, and assumed tlie black turban and the pilgrim garb. Casting a look down into the plain, however, he beheld, with grief and in- dignation, the gleam of swords and lances, and Khaled, who commanded the left wing, in a full career of carnage. His troops, composed of Arab ENTRY INTO MECCA, 251 tribes converted to the faith, had been galled by a flight of arrows from a body of Koreishites ; whereupon the fiery warrior charged into the thickest of them with sword and lance ; his troops pressed after him ; put the enemy to flight, entered the gates of Mecca pell-mell with them, and nothing but the swift commands of Mahomet preserved the city from a general massacre. The carnage being stopped, and no farther op- position manifested, the prophet descended from the mount and approached the gates, seated on his camel, accompanied by Abu Beker on his right hand, and followed by Osama, the son of Zeid. The sun was just rising as he entered the gates of his native city, with the glory of a conqueror, but the garb and humility of a pilgrim. He entered, repeating verses of the Koran, which he said had been revealed to him at Medina, and were prophetic of the event. He triumphed in the spirit of a religious zealot, not of a warrior. " Unto God," said he, " belong the hosts of heaven and earth, and God is mighty and wise. Now hath God verified unto his apostle the vision, wherein he said, ye shall surely enter the holy temple of Mecca in full security." Without dismounting, Mahomet repaired di- rectly to the Caaba, the scene of his early devotions, the sacred shrine of worship since the days of the patriarchs, and which he regarded as the primitive temple of the one true God. Here he made the seven circuits round the sacred edifice, a reverential rite from the days of religious purity ; with the same devout feeling he each time touched 2j2 MAHOMET AND BIS SVCCESS0S8. the black etano with his staff holy relic He would have entered the Caaba, but Otbman Ibn Tnlha, the aucient custodian, lucked the door. AH eunt^ihed the keya, but Mahomet caused them to be returned to the vener- able officer, and so won him by his kindness, that he not merely threw , open the doors, but sub- sequently embraced the Eiith of Islam ; whereupon he was continued in his office. Mahomet now pi-oceeded to execute the great object of his religions aspirations, the purifying of the saered edifice from the symbols of idolatry, with which it was crowded. All the idols in and about it, to the number of three hundred and siity, were thrown down and destroyed. Among these, the moat renowned was Hobal, an idol brought from Balka, in Syria, and febled to have the power of granting rain. It was, of course, a great object of worship among the inhabitants of the thirsty desert. There were statues of Abra- ham and Ishmael also, represented with divining arrowB in their hands ; " an outrage on their memories," said Mahomet, " being symbols of a diabolical art which they had never practiced." In reverence of their memories, therefore, these statues were demolished. There were paintingB, also, depicting angels in the guise of beaatifiil women. " The angels," said Mahomet, indignantly, " are no such beings. There are celestial honris provided in paradise for the solace of tme believers ; but angels are minlatermg spirits of the Most High, and of too pure a nature to admit of sex." The paintings were accordingly obliter- ated. RELIGIOUS RITES, 253 Even a dove, curiously carved of wood, he broke with his own hands, and cast upon the ground, as savoring of idolatry. From the Caaba he proceeded to the well of Zem Zem. It was sacred in his eyes, from his belief that it was the identical well revealed by the angel to Hagar and Ishmael, in their extremity ; he considered the rite connected with it as pure and holy, and continued it in his Mth. As he approached the well, his uncle Al Abbas presented him a cruse of the water, that he might drink, and make the customary ablution. In commemor- ation of this pious act, he appointed his uncle guardian of the cup of the well; an office of sacred dignity, which his descendants retain to this day. At noon one of his followers, at his conmiand, summoned the people to prayer from the top of the Caaba, a custom continued ever since through- out Mahometan countries, from minarets or towers provided in every mosque. He also established the Kebla, toward which the faithfiil in every part of the world should turn their feces in prayer. He afterwards addressed the people in a kind of sermon, setting forth his principal doctrines, and announcing the triumph of the faith as a fulfillment of prophetic promise. Shouts burst from the multitude in reply. "Allah Achbar, Grod is great ! " cried they. " There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet" The religious ceremonials being ended, Maho- met took his station on the lull Al Safa, and the people of Mecca, male and female, passed before 2.H MABOifET AND BIS SUCCE3B0SS. him, taking the oath of fidelity to him as die prophet of GoU, and renoundng idolatry. Tlua was in comphance with a revelation ia the Koran : '* God hath eeut his apostle with die direction and the religion of truth, that he ma.j ezalt the same over every religion. Verily, they who swear fealty to him, swear fealty unto Grod ; the hand of God ia over their hands." In the midst of hia triumph, however, he rejected all homage paid excluBively to himself; and all regal authority, "Why dost thou tremble ? " said he, to a man who approached with timid and tulteriug steps. " Of what dost thou stand in awe ? I am no king, but the son of a Eoreishite woman, who ate flesh dried in the son." His lenity was equally conspicuous. The once haughty chiefs of the Koreishites appeared with abject countenances before the man they had per- secuted, for their lives were in his power, "What can you eipect at my hands?" d&- manded he sternly. " Mercy, O generous brother ! Mercy. O son of a generous linel" " Be it so ! " cried he, with a mixture of scorn and pity, " Away ! begone I ye are free ! " Some of his followers who had shared his per- secutions, were disappointed in their anticipatjons of a bloody revenge and murmured at hia clem- ency ; but he persisted in it, and established Mecca as an inviolable sanctuary, or place of ref- uge, BO to continue until the final resurrection. He reserved to himself, however, the right on the present occasion, and during that spedal day, to punish a few of the people of the city, who TREATMENT OF OFFENDERS. 255 bad grievuuBl; uH^euded, and beeu expreiislj proB- tribed ; yet even these, for the most part, were Intimately forgiven. Among the Korebhite women who advanced to take the oath, he descried Henda, the wife of Abu Soflan ; the savage woniaa who had ani- imttfid the infidels at the battle of Ohod, and had nawed the heart of Homza, in revenge for the eath of her &ther. On the present occasion ihe had disguised herself to es<»pe detection ; but fweing the eyes of the prophet fixed on her, she ^Strew herself at his feet, exclaiming, "I am £[eiida : pardon ! pardon I " Mahomet pardoned - and was requited for his clemency by her ig his doctrines the subject of contemptuoua Among those destined to punishment, was I^VTackga, the Etliiopian, who had slain tlamza ; it he had fled from Mecca oa the entrance of army. At a subsequent; period he pi'esented laelf before the prophet, and made the pro- on of faith before he was recognized. He for^ven, and made to' relate the particulars the death of Hamza ; after which Mahomet JBsed him with an injunction, never again to into his presence. He survived until the of the Calipliat of Omar, during whose jfeign he was repeatedly scourged for drunken- Another of the proscribed waa Ahdallah Ibn Saad, a young Koreishite, distinguished for wit «nd humor, as well as for warlike accompUsh- inents. Aa he held the pen of a ready writer, 256 MABOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. Mahomet had employed him to rednce the rav- elationa of the Koran to writing. lu ao doing, he had otten altered aud ameuded the t«xt ; nay, it was discoyered that, through carelessnesB or design, he had occasiouallj Msitied it, and ren- dered it absurd. He had even made liis alterations and amendments matters of scoff and jest among his companions, observing that if the Koran proved Mahomet to be a prophet, he himself must be half a prophet. His interpolations being de- tected, he liad fled fiwm the wrath of ilia prophet, and returned to Mecca, where he relapsed into idolatry. On the capture of the dty his fbater- brother concealed him in his house, until the tumult had subsided, when he led him into the presence of the prophet, and suppUcated for his pardon. This was the severest trial of the lenity of Mahomet. The ofi'ender had betrayed his confidence ; held him up to ridicule ; questioned his apostolic mission, and struck at the very fbun- datiou of bis faith. For some time he mmntained a stem silence ; hoping, as he afterwards declared, some zealous disdple might strike off the offender's bead. No one, however, stirred ; so, yielding to the entreaties of Othman, he granted a pardon. Abdallah instantly renewed his profess ' fiiith ; and continued a good Mussulman. His name will be found in the wars of the Caliphs. He was one of the most dexterous horsemen of his tribe, and evinced his ruling passion to the last, tor he died repeating the hundredth chapter of the Koran, entitled " The war Steeds." Per- haps it waa one which had esperienced his inter- polations. CLEMENCY OF THE PROPHET. 257 Another of the proscribed, was Akrema Ibn Abu Jahl, who on many occasions had manifested a deadly hostility to the prophet, inherited from his father. On the entrance of Mahomet into Mecca, Akrema threw himself upon a fleet horse, and escaped by an opposite gate, leaving behind him a beautiful wife, 0mm Hakem, to whom he was recently married. She embraced the faith of Islam, but soon after learned that her husband, in attempting to escape by sea to Yemen, had been driven back to port. Hastening to the presence of the* prophet, she threw herself on her knees before him, loose, dishevelled, and un- veiled, and implored grace for her husband. The prophet, probably more moved by her beauty than her grief, raised her gently from the earth, and told her her prayer was granted. Hurrying to the sea-port, she arrived just as the vessel in which her husband had embarked was about to sail. She returned, mounted behind him, to Mecca, and brought him, a true believer, into the presence of the prophet. On this occasion, however, she was so closely veiled that her dark eyes alone were visible. Mahomet received Akrema's pro- fession of faith ; made him commander of a bat- talion of Hawazenites, as the dower of his beautiftd and devoted wife, and bestowed liberal donations on the youthful couple. Like many other converted enemies, Akrema proved a valiant soldier in the wars of the faith, and after signal- izing himself on various occasions, fell in battle, hacked and pierced by swords and lances. The whole conduct of Mahomet on gaining 17 258 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. possession of Mecca, showed that it was a relig- ious, more than a military triumph. His heart, too, softened toward his native place, now that it was in his power ; his resentments were extin- guished by success, and his inclinations were all toward forgiveness. The Ansarians, or Auxiliaries of Medina, who had aided him in his campaign, began to fear that its success might prove fatal to their own interests. They watched him anxiously, as one day, after praying on the hill Al Safa, he sat gazing down wistfully upon Mecca, the scene of his early struggles and recent glory : " Verily," said he, " thou art the best of cities, and the most beloved of AUah ! Had I not been driven out from thee by my own tribe, never would I have left thee ! " On hearing this, the Ansarians said, one to ano- ther, " Behold ! Mahomet is conqueror and master of his native city ; he will, doubtless, establish himself here, and forsake Medina ! " Their words reached his ear, and he turned to them with reproachful warmth : " No ! " cried he, " when you plighted to me your allegiance, I swore to live and die with you. I should not act as the servant of God, nor as his ambassador, were I to leave you." He acted according to his words, and Medina, which had been his city of refuge, continued to be his residence to his dying day. Mahomet did not content himself with purify- ing the Caaba, and abolishing idolatry from his native city ; he sent forth his captains at the head of armed bands, to cast down the idols of differ- ZEAL OF KHALID. 259 ent tribes set up in the neighboring towns and villages, and to convert their worshippers to his faith. Of all these military apostles, none was so zealous as Kialed ; whose spirit was still fer- menting with recent conversion. Arriving at Naklah, the resort of the idolatrous Koreishites to worship at the shrine of Uzza, he penetrated the sacred grove, laid waste the temple, and cast the idol to the ground. A horrible hag, black and naked, with dishevelled hair, rushed forth, shrieking and wringing her hands ; but Khaled severed her through the middle with one blow of his scimitar. He reported the deed to Mahomet, expressing a doubt whether she were priestess or evil spirit. " Of a truth," replied the prophet, " it was Uzza herself whom thou hast destroyed." On a similar errand into the neighboring province of Tehama, Khaled had with him three hundred and fifty men, some of them of the tribe of Suleim, and was accompanied by Abda'l- rahman, one of the earliest proselytes of the faith. His instructions from the prophet were to preach peace and good will, to inculcate the faith, and to abstain from violence, unless assailed. When about two days' journey on his way to Tehama, he had to pass through the country of the tribe of Jadsima. Most of the inhabitants had embraced the faith, but some were still of the Sabean religion. On a former occasion this tribe had plundered and slain an uncle of Klaled, also the father of Abda'lrahman, and several Suleimites, as they were returning from Arabia 2G0 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. Felix. Dreading that Khaled and his host might take vengeance for these miadeeds, they armed tltemaelTeH on their approacli. Khftled was secretly rejoiced at seeing them lide forth to meet him in this military array, liailisg them with an imperious tone, be demanded whether they were Moslems or infidels. They replied, in faltering accents, " Moslems." " Why then come ye forth to meet us with weapons io your hands ? " " Because we have enemies among some of the tribes who may attack us Ehaled sternly ordered them to dismount and lay by their weapons. Some complied, and were instantly seized and bonnd ; the rest fled. Taking their flight as a conitission of guilt, he pursued them with great slaughter; laid waste the oountry, and in the efliirvescence of his zeal even slew some of the prisoners. Mahomet, when he heard of this unprovoked outrage, raised his hands to heaven, and called God to witness that he was innocent of it. Eha- led, when upbrmded with it on his return, would fain have shifted the blame on Abda'lrahman, but Mahomet rejected indignantly an imputation against one of the earliest and worthiest of hia followers. The generous Ali was sent forthwith to restore to the people of Jadsima what Khaled had wrested from them, and to make pecuniary compensation to the relatives of the slain. It was a miasioa congenial with his nature, and he executed it faithfully. Inquiring into the losses and sufTeringa of each individual, he paid him to KIND MISSION OF ALL 261 his full content. When every loss was made good, and all blood atoned for, he distributed the remaining money among the people, gladdening every heart by his bounty. So Ali received the thanks and praises of the prophet, but the vin- dictive Khaled was rebuked even by those whom he had thought to please. " Behold ! " said he, to Abda'lrahman, " I have avenged the death of thy father." " Rather say," replied the other, indignantly, " thou hast avenged the death of thine uncle. Thou hast disgraced the faith by an act worthy of an idolater." ■m,mr. CHAPTER XXXI. HoBtitUieBin tho Moatilains. — Enem7'a CampiD the Vallsj of Autaa. — Battle of the Pass df Honein. — Capture of tha Enemy'a Camp. — Intermw of Mahomet witb Ilie Dorse of bit Obiliihood Diviaion of Spoil — Mahomet at hla Mgtlier'a Grave. I^T^IHILE the military apostles of Mahomet HtHYwl were spreading his doctrines at the tile storm was gathering in the monntains. A. league was formed among the Tbakefitea, the Hawazins, the Josliniites, the Saoiiitcs, and sev- eral of the hardy mountain tribes of Bedouins, to checlt a power whicli threatened to subjugate all Arabia. The Saadites, or Beni Sad, here men- tioned, are the same pastoral Arabs among whom Mnhoniet had been nurtured iu his childhood ; and in whose valley, according to tradition, hia heart had been plucked forth aud purified by an angel. The Thnkefites, who were foremost in the league, were a powerful tribe, possessing the strong raoimtain town of Tayef and its pro- ductive territory. They were bigoted idolaters ; maintaining at their capital the far famed shrine of the female idol Al Lat. The reader will remember the ignominious treatment of Mahomet, when he attempted to preach his doctrines at ENEMTS CAMP, 263 Tayef; being stoned in the public square, and ultimately driven with insult from the gates. It was probably a dread of vengeance at his hands, which now made the Thakefites so active in forming a league against him. Malec Ibn Auf, the chief of the Thakefites, had the general command of the confederacy. He appointed the valley of Autas, between Honein and Tayef, as the place of assemblage and encampment ; and as he knew the fickle na- ture of the Arabs, and their proneness to return home on the least caprice, he ordered them to bring with them their families and effects. They assembled, accordingly, from various parts, to the number of four thousand fighting men ; but the camp' was crowded with women and children, and encumbered with flocks and herds. The expedient of Malec Ibn Auf to secure the adhesion of the warriors, was strongly disaproved by Doraid, the chief of the Joshmites. This was an ancient warrior, upwards of a hundred years old ; meagre as a skeleton, almost blind, and so feeble that he had to Jbe borne in a litter on the back of a camel. Still, though unable to mingle in the battle, he was potent in council from his military experience. This veteran of the desert advised that the women and children should be sent home forthwith, and the army re- lieved from all unnecessary incumbrances. His advice was not taken, and the valley of Autas continued to present rather the pastoral encamp- ment of a tribe, than the hasty levy of an army. In the meantime Mahomet, hearing of the 2GI ET AND HIS saccnasoBS. gathering atorm, had sallied forth to ooticipate it, at the head of about twelve thousand troops, partly fugitives from Mecca, and auxiliuries from Medina, partly Arabs of the desert, some of whuiu lind not yet embraced the faith. In taking the field he wore a polished cuirasa and helmet aud rode hia favorite white mule DftlJai, aeldom mountiug a charger, as he rarely mi[igled iu aelual figlit. His recent successes aud his superiority in numbers, making him con- fident of au easy victory, he entered the nioun- tains without precaution, and pushing forward for the enemy's camp at Mutas, came to a deep, gloomy valley on the coaiiues of Honeiu. The troops marched without order through the rug- ged de&le, each one choosing his own path. Sud- deidy they were a-ssaited by showers of darts, atones aud arrows, which lay two or three of Ma- homet's soldiers dead at his feel, and wounded sevei'al others. Slalec, in fact, had taken post with his ablest warriors about the heights com- manding this narrow gorge. Every cliff and cav- ern was garrisoned with archei's and sliiigers, and some rushed down to contend al close quarters. Struck with a sudden panic, the Moslems turned aud fled. In vain did Mahomet call upon them as their general, or appeal to them as the prophet of God. Each man aouglit but Lis own safety, and au escape from that horrible valley. For a. moment all seemed lost, aud some re- cent but unw'illing converts betrayed an exultft- tiou ill the supposed reverse of fortune of the prophet. TBE PASS OF nO.VEI.V. 265 By heavens ! " crieil Abu Sofian, as be looked aftur the flying Ho«Ipms, " nothing will stop them unril they reach the sea." "Ay, " exclaimed auothei', " the magic power Mahomet is at an end ! '" A third, who cherished a lurking reven{!;e for the death of his father, slain by the Moslems in the battle of Ohod, would have killed the prophet in the confusion, had he not been Burrounded and protected by a few devoted followera. Mahomet hlmseir, in an impulse of desperallon, spurred his mule upon the enemy ; but Al Abbas seized the bridle, stayed him from rushing to certain ih, and at the same time put up a shout that oed through the narrow . valley. Al Abbas was renowned for strength of lungs, and at this critical moment it was the salvaliou of the army. The Moslems rallied when they heard his well- known voice, and finding they were not pursued, returned to the combat. The enemy had descend- ed from the hei{>hts, and now a bloody conflict ensued in the defile. " The furnace is kindling," I Mahomet exultingly, as he saw the glitter of arms and fiash of weapons. Stooping from saddle, and grasping a handful of dust, he scattered it in the air lotvard (he enemy. " Con- fusion on their faces ! " cried he, " may this dust blind them ! " Tiiey were blinded accordingly, and fled in confusion, say the Moslem writers ; Itiongh their defeat may rafber be attributed to the Moslem superiority of force, and the zeal in- spired by the exclamations of the prophet. Ma- lec and the Tiiakefitea took refuge in the distant 266 MAHOMET AyO HIS SUCCESSORS. cily of Tayef, the rest retreated to the camp in the Valley of Auina. While Mnbomet remained id the Valley of Haneiii, he sent Aha Amir with a strong force, to attack the camp. The Hawazios made a bmve defense. Abu Amir was slain ; but his nephew, Abu Musa, took the command, and ob- tained a complete victory, killing many of the enemy. The camp afforded great booty and many captives, from the unwise expedient of Maleo Ibn Auf, in encumbering it with the families and effects, the flocks and herds of the confederates ; and from big disregard of the sage advice of the veteran Doraid. The fate of that ancient war- rior of the desert ia worthy of mention. While the Moslem troops, scattered through the camp, were intent on booty, Rabia Ibn Raft, a young Suleimile, observed a litter borne off on the back of a camel, and pursued it, supposing it to con- tain some beautiful femate. On overtaking it and drawing the curtain, he beheld the skeleton form of the aueieut Doraid, Vexed and disap- pointed, he struck at him with his sword, but the weapon broke in his hand. " Thy mother, " said the old man sneeringly, "baa furnished thee with wretched weapons ; thou wilt find a better one hanging behind my saddle." The youth seized ii, but as he drew it from the scabbard, Doraid perceiving that he was a Suleiraite, exclaimed, '' Tell thy mother thou hast slain Doraid Ibn Simma, who baa protected many women of her tribe in the day of battle," The words were ineffectual ; the skull of the THE foster-sister OF THE PROPHET. 267 veteran was cloven with his own scimetar. When Rabia, on his return to Mecca, told his mother of the deed, " Thou hast indeed slain a benefac- tor of thy race," said she reproachfully. " Three women of thy family has Doraid Ibn Simma freed from captivity." Abu Musa returned in triumph to Mahomet, making a great display of the spoils of the camp of Autas, and the women and children whom he had captured. One of the female captives threw herself at the feet of the prophet, and implored his mercy as his foster-sister Al Shima, the daughter of his nurse Hal^ma, who had nurtured him in the Saadite valley. Mahomet sought in vain to recognize in her withered features the bright playmate of his infancy, but she laid bare her back, and showed a scar where he had bitten her in their childish gambols. He no longer doubted ; but treated her with kindness, giving her the choice either to remain with him and under his protection, or to return to her home and kindred. A scruple rose among the Moslems with re- spect to their female captives. Could they take to themselves such as were married, without committing the sin of adultery ? The revelation of a text of the Koran put an end to the difficulty. " Ye shall not take to wife free women who are married, unless your right hand shall have made them slaves." According to this all women taken in war may be made the wives of the captors, though their former husbands be living. The 2GS OMET AND aiS SUCCESSORS. victors of Honein failed not to take iramediate Bdvaatage of this law. Leiiviog the captives and the booty in a se- cure place, and properly guarded, Mahomet now proceeded in pursuit of the Thakefites who had taken refuge in Tayef. A sentiineat of vca- geauce niiugled with his pious ardor as he ap- proaolied (his idolatrous place, the scene of former injury and insult, and beheld the gate whence he had once been ignominiously driveu forth. The walls were too strong, however, to be stormed, and there whs a protecting castle; for the first time, therefore, he had recourse to catapults, bat- tering-rams, and other engines used in sieges, but unknown in Arabian warfare. These were pre- pared under the direction of Salman al Farsi, the converted Persian. The besieged, however, repulsed every attack, galliug the assailants wil.h darts mid arrows, and pouring down melted iron upon the shields of bull- hides, under covert of which they approached the walls. Mahomet now laid waste the fields, the orchards, and vineyai'ds, and proclaimed free- dom to all slaves who should desert from the city. For twenty days he eairied on an ineffec- tual siege — daily offering up prayers midway between the tents of his wives 0mm Siiiama and Zeinab, to whom it had fallen by lot to accom- pany him in this campaign. His hopes of suc- cess began to fail, and he was further discouraged by a dream, which was unfavorably interpreted by Abu Befcer, renowned for his skill in ex- pounding visions. He would have raised the TSE NURSE OF THE PROPHET. 269 «ege, but liis troops murmured ; tvhereupon he crdere^ sa assault upon one of the gtttcs. As lal, it was obstinately dcfeniled; numbers were fllain on both sides : Abu Sofiaii, who fought valiantly oa the occasion, lost an eye, and the Moslems were finally repulsed. MiihomeC now broke up his camp, promising his troops to renew the siege at a future day, and proceeded to the place where were collected the ^K>ils of his expedition. These, say Arabian writers, amounted to twenty-four thousand cam- els, forty thousand sheep, four thousand ounces of ^ver, and six thousand captives. a little while appeai-ed a deputation from -ihe Hawazins, declaring the submission of their tribe, and begging the restoration of their fami- lies and effects. With them came Halgma, Ma- Jwmet's foster-nurse, now well stricken in years. 'The recollections of Lis cliildhood again pleaded iwith his heart. " Which is dearest to you," said ^ to the Hawazins, " your families or your jooda? " They replied, " Our families." " Enough," rejoined he, " as far as it eoncema 1 Abbas and myself, we are ready to give up IF share of the prisoners ; but there are others be moved. Come to me afler noontide prayer, id say, ' we implore the ambassador of God lat he counsel his followers to return us our ivea and children ; and we implore his followers lat they intercede with iiira in our faror. ' " The envoys did as he advised. Mahomet and .1 Abbas immediately renounced their share of Ihe captives ; their esomple was followed by all MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOJIS. excepting the trilies of Taniim and Fazara, but Mahomet brought them to consent by promising thenn a sixfold share of the prisoners taken in the next expedition. Thus the intercession of HalSma procured the deliverance of all the cap- liven of her tribe. A trodiLianal anecdote shows the deference with which Mahomet treated this humble protector of his infancj, " I was sitting with the prophet," said one of hia disciples, " when all of a sudden a woman presented her- self, and he rose and spread his cloth for her to sit down upon. When she went away, it was observed, ' that woman suckled the prophet.' " Mahomet now sent an envoy to Malec, who remained shut up in Tayef, offering the restitu- tion of all the spoils taken from him at Honein, and a present of one hundred camels, if he would submit and embrace the fajth. Malec was coor quered and converted by this liberal oSer, and brought several of his confederate tribes vrith him to the standard of the prophet. He was immediately made their chief, and proved, sub- sequently, a severe scourge in the cause of the faith to liis late associates the Thakelites. The Moslems now began to fear that Ma- homet, in these magnanimous impulses, might squander away all the gains of their recent bat- hes i thronging around him, therefore, they clam- ored for a division of the spoils and captives. Regarding them, indignantly, " Have you ever," said he, " found me avaricious, or false, or dis- loyal ? " Then plucking a hair from the back of a camel, and raising his voice, " By Allah ! " POLITIC GENEROSITY. 271 cried he, " I have never taken from the common spoil the value of that camel's hair more than my fifth; and that fifth has always heen ex- pended for your good." He then shared the booty as usual ; four-fifths among the troops ; but his own fifth he dis- tributed among those whose fidelity he wished to insure. The Koreishites he considered dubious allies ; perhaps he had overheard the exultation of some of them in anticipation of his defeat ; he now sought to rivet them to him by gifts. To Abu Sofian he gave one hundred camels and forty okks of silver, in compensation for the eye lost in the attack on the gate of Tayef. To Akrema Ibn Abu Jahl, and others of like note, he gave in due proportions, and all from his own share. Among the lukewarm converts thus propi- tiated, was Abbas Ibn Mardas, a poet. He was dissatisfied with his share, and vented his dis- content in satirical verses. Mahomet overheard him. " Take that man hence," said he, " and cut out his tongue." Omar, ever ready for rig- gorous measures, would have executed the sen- tence literally, and on the spot ; but others, bet- ter instructed in the prophet's meaning, led Abbas, all trembling, to the public square where the captured cattle were collected, and bade him choose what he liked from among them. " What ! " cried the poet, joyously, relieved from the horrors 6f mutilation, " is this the way the prophet would silence my tongue? By Al- lah ! I will take nothing." Mahomet, however, Tri MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. perHiBled in his politic gpuerosity, and sent liim sixty camels. From tbat time forward tLe poel was never weary of chanting the liberality of the While tliiis Btimulating the good-will of luke- warm proselytes of Mecca, Maliomet excited the murmurs of hia aitiilinriea of Medina. " See," said they, " how he lavishes gifts upon the treacherous Koreishites, while we, who have been loyal to him through all dangera, receive nothing but our naked share. What have we done that we should be thus thrown into the background ? " Mahomet was told of their murmurs, and EUuimoned their lenders to his tent. " Hearken, ye men of Medina." aaid he ; " were ye not in discord among yourselves, and have I not brought you into harmony? Were ye not in error, and have I not brought you into the path of truth ? Were ye not poor, and have I not made you rich ? " They acknowledged the truth of his words. " Look ye ! " continued he, " I came among yon stigmatized as a liar, yet you believed in me ; persecuted, yet you protected me ; a fugitive, yet you sheltered me ; helpless, yet you aided me. Think you I do not feel all this ? Think you I can be ungrateful ? You complain that 1 bestow gifts upon these people, and give none to you. It is true, I give thera worldly gear, but it is to win their worldly hearts. To you, who have been true, I give — myself! They return home ■ with sheep and camels ; ye return with the prophet of God among you. For by him in THE PROPHETS APPEAL. 273 whose hands is the soul of Mahomet, though the whole world should go one way and ye another, I would remain with you ! Which of you, then, have I most rewarded ? " The auxiliaries were moved even to tears by this appeal. " O prophet of Grod," exclaimed they, " we are content with our lot ! " The booty being divided, Mahomet returned to Mecca, not with the parade and exultation of a conqueror, but in pilgrim garb, to complete the rites of his pilgrimage. All these being scrupu- lously performed, he appointed Moad Ibn Jabal as iman, or pontiflT, to instruct the people in the doctrines of Islam, and gave the government of the city into the hands of Otab, a youth but eighteen years of age ; after which he bade fare- well to his native place, and set out with his troops on the return to Medina. Arriving at the village of Al Abwa, where his mother was buried, his heart yearned to pay a filial tribute to her memory, but his own revealed law forbade any respect to the grave of one who had died in unbelief. In the strong agitation of his feelings he implored from heaven a relaxation of this law. If there was any deception on an occasion of this kind, one would imagine it must have been self-deception, and that he really be- lieved in a fancied intimation from heaven relax- ing the law, in part, in the present instance, and permitting him to visit the grave. He burst into tears on arriving at this trying place of the tenderest affections ; but tears were all the filial 18 274 MAHOMET AND EIS SUCCESSORS, tribute he was permitted to offer. ^ I asked leave of God," said he, mournfully, " to visit my mother's grave, and it was granted ; but when I asked leave to pray for her, it was denied me ! " CHAPTER XXXn. Death of the Prophet's daughter Zeinab. — Birth of his son Ibrahim. — Deputations from Distant Tribes. — Poetical Contest in Presence of the Prophet. — His susceptibility to the Charms of Poetry. — Reduction of the City of Tayef ; Destruction of its Idols. — Negotiation with Amir Ibn Tafiel, a proud Bedouin Chief; Independent spirit of the latter. — Interview of Adi, another Chief, with Mahomet. HORTLY after his return to Medina, Mahomet was afflicted by the death of his daughter Zeinab, the same who had been given up to him in exchange for her hus- band Abul Aass, the unbeliever, captured at the battle of Beder. The domestic affections of the prophet were strong, and he felt deeply this be- reavement; he was consoled, however, by the birth of a son, by his favorite concubine Mariyah. He called the child Ibrahim, and rejoiced in the hope, that this son of his old age, his only male issue living, would continue his name to after generations. His fame, either as a prophet or a conqueror, was now spreading to the uttermost parts of Arabia, and deputations from distant tribes were continually arriving at Medina, some acknowl- edging him as a prophet and embracing Islamism, others submitting to him as a temporal sovereign, 276 MABOMET A^'D BIS SUCCESSORS. and agreeing lo paj tribute. The talents of Ma- homet rose to the exigency of the moment; his viewH ezpaaded with his fortunes, and he now proceeded with statoEraaulike skill to regulate the fiscal ooncenis of his rapidly growing empire. Under the specious appellation of alms, a con- tribution was levied on true believers, amounting to a tithe of the productions of the earth, 'where it was fertilized by brooks and rain ; and a twentieth part where its fertility was the result of irrigation. For every ten camels, two sheep were required ; for forty Lead of cattle, one cow ; for thirty head, a two years' calf r for every forty- sheep, one ; whoever contributed more than at this rate, would be cousidcred so much the more devout, and would gain a proportionate favor in the eyes of God. The tribute exacted from those who submitted lo temporal sway, but continued in unbelief, waa at the rate of one dinar in money or goods, for each adult person, bond or free. Some difficulty occurred In collecting the char- , itable contributions ; the proud tribe of Tamim openly resisted them, and drove away the collec- tor. A troop of Arab horse was sent against them, and brought away a number of men, wo- men and children, captives. A deputation of the Tamimites came to reclaim the prisoners. Four of the deputies were renowned as orators and poets, and instead of Luiabliag themselvea before Mahomet, proceeded lo declaim in prose and verse, defying the Moslems to a poetical eon- POETICAL CONTEST, 277 " I am not sent by God as a poet," replied Mahomet, " neither do I seek fame as an orator." Some of his followers, however, accepted the challenge, and a war of ink ensued, in which the Tamimites acknowledged themselves vanquished. So well pleased was Mahomet with the spirit of their defiance, with their poetry, and with their frank acknowledgment of defeat, that he not merely gave them up the prisoners, but dismissed them with presents. Another instance of his susceptibility to the charms of poetry, is recorded in the case of Caab Ibu Zohair, a celebrated poet of Mecca, who had made him the subject of satirical verses, and had consequently been one of the proscribed ; but had fled on the capture of the sacred city. Caab now came to Medina to make his peace, and approaching Mahomet when in the mosque, began chanting his praises in a poem afterwards renowned among the Arabs as a masterpiece. He concluded by especially extolling his clem- ency, " for with the prophet of Grod, the pardon of injuries is, of all his virtues, that on which one can rely with the greatest certainty." Captivated with the verse, and soothed by the flattery, Mahomet made good the poet's words, for he not merely forgave him, but taking off his own mantle, threw it upon his shoulders. The poet preserved the sacred garment to the day of his death, refusing golden offers for it. The Ca- liph Moawyah purchased it of his heirs for ten thousand drachmas, and it continued to be worn by the Caliphs in processions and solemn cere- 278 MABOSfET AXD BIS SUCCESSORS. monictls, until the (Iilrty-sisih Calipbat, when it was toFD from the back of the Caliph Al-Most"- asem Billftli, by Holagu, the Tartar conqueror, and burnt to ashea. While towti after town, and castle after castle of the Arab tribes ivere embracing the faith, and professing allegiance to Mahomet, Tayef, the stronghold of the Thake6te3, remained obstinate in the worship of its boasUd idol Al Lat. The inbabilants confided in their mountain position, and in the strength of their walls and cattle. But, though safe from assault, they found them- selvea gradually hemmed in and isolated by the Moslems, so that at length they could not stir beyond their walls without being attacked. Thus threatened and harassed, they sent ambassadors to Mahomet to treat for peace. The prophet cherished a deep resentment against this stiff-necked and most idolatrous city, which had at one time ejected him from its gates, and at another time repulsed him firom its walls. His terms were conversion and unqualified anb- miasion. The ambassadors re.adily consented to embrace Islamiara themselves, hut pleaded the danger of suddenly shocking the people of TayeK by a. demand to renounce their ancient faith. In their name, therefore, they entreated permission for three years longer, to worship their ancient idol Al LaL The request was peremptorily de- nied. They then asked at least one month's de- lay, to prepare the public mind. This likewise was refused, all idolatry being incompatible with the worship of God, They then entreated to be excused from the observance of the daily prayers. DEBTRnCTlOa OF IDOLS AT TAFEF. 279 '■ There can be no true religion without prayer," replied Mahomet. In fine, they were cocnpelled lo make an nneoiiflitioDal submission. Abu Sofian, Ibn Ilarh, and Al Mogheira, were sent to Tuyef, to destroy the idol Al Lat, which was of stoue. Abu SoGan struck at it with a pick-axe, but missing his blow fell prostrate on his faue. The populace set up a shout, consider- ing it a good aogiiry ; but Al Moglieira de- molished their hopes, and the statue, at one blow of a eledge-hammer. Ho then stripped it of the costly robes, the braeelels, the necklace, the ear-rings, aud other oruamenta of gold and precious stones wherewith it had been decked by its worshippers, and left it in fragments on (he ground, with the women of Toyef weeping and lamenting over it.' Among those who still defied the power of Mahomet, was the Bedouin chief Amir Ibn Tu- fiel, bead of the powerful tribe of Amir. He was renowned for personal beauty and princely magnificence ; but waa of a haughty spirit, and his magnificence partook of ostentation. At the great fiiir of Okaz, between Tayef and Naklali, where merchants, pilgrims, aud poets, were ac- customed to assemble from all parts of Arabia, a 1 The Thoketites coutiaue n powerfal tribe to this clay; poaapaaing the same fertila region on the eastern deeUyify of the Hedjas chain of moantBinB. Some inhabit tho ancient town 0/ TayBf, olhers dwell in tents and have flocks of goats andahflop. Theycan raise two thousand matchlueka, and id their stronghold ofTayefin the wara with the Wa- babye Barckhardt'i Ifole), t. 2, 280 3IAB0MET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. lierald would proclaim : " Whoso wants a beast of burden, IgI bim come to Amir ; is atiy one hungry, let bim come lo Amir, and be will be fed ; is he persecuted, let him fly to Amir, and he will be protected." Amir bad diizzled every one by his generosity, and bia ambition bad kept pace with bis popularity. The rising power of Mahomet inspired him with jealousy. When advised to make terms with him ; " I have sworn," replied he hanghtily, "never to rest until I had won all Arabia; and Bhall I do homage to this Koreisbite ? " The recent conquests of the Moslems, however, brought him to listen to the counsels of his friends. lie repaired to Medina, and coming into the presence of Mahomet, demanded fi-ankly, " Wilt thou be my frieud ? " " Never, by Allah ! " was the reply, " unless thou dost embrace the faith of Islam ? " " And if I do ; wilt thou content thyself with the sway over the Arabs of the cities, and leave to me the Bedouins of the deserts ? " Mahomet replied in the negative. " What then will I gain by embracing thy faith ? " " The fellowship of all true believers." " I covet DO such fellowship 1 " replied the proud Amir ; and with a warlike menace be re- turned to his tribe. A Bedouiu chieftain of a different character waa Adi, a prince of the tribe of Till His father Ha- tim had been famous, not merely for warUke deeds, bill tor boundless generosity, insomucli tiiat the FLIGHT OF ADL 281 Arabs were accustomed to say, " as generous as Hatim." Adi the son was a Christian ; and however he might have inherited his father's generosity, was deficient in his valor. Alarmed at the ravaging expeditions of the Moslems, he ordered a young Arab, who tended his camels in the desert, to have several of the strongest and fleetest at hand, and to give instant notice of the approach of an enemy. It happened that Ali, who was scouring that part of the country with a band of horsemen, came in sight, bearing with him two banners, one white, the other black. The young Bedouin be- held them from afar, and ran to Adi, exclaiming, " the Moslems are at hand. I see their banners at a distance ! " Adi instantly placed his wife and children on the camels, and fled to Syria. His sister, surnamed Saffana, or the Pearl, fell into the hands of the Moslems, and was carried with other captives to Medina. Seeing Ma- homet pass near to the place of her confinement, she cried to him : " Have pity upon me, O ambassador of Grod ! My father is dead, and he who should have pro- tected has abandoned me. Have pity upon me, O ambassador of God, as God may have pity upon thee ! " " Who is thy protector ? " asked Mahomet. " Adi, the son of Hatim." " He is a fugitive from God and his prophet," replied Mahomet, and passed on. On the following day, as Mahomet was passing by, Ali, who had been touched by the woman's 282 MAHOMET AND HIS BUCCESSOSS. beauty aud her grief, vrhiapered to her to ariae and entreat the prophet onoe more. She ac- cordingly repeated ber prayer. " O pruphet of God ! my father ia dead ; ray brother, who should have been my protector, has abundoned me. Have mercy upon me, as God wiU have mercy upon thee." Maliomet turned to her benignnntly. " Be it BO," said he ; aud he not only aet her free, but gave her raiment and a camel, and sent her by the first caravan bound to Syria- Arriving in the presence of her brother, she upbraided him with his desertion. He acknowl- edged bis fault and was forgiven. She then urged bim to make bis peace with Mahomet; " he is truly a prophet," said she, '■ and will Boon have universal sway ; hasten, therefore, in time to win bis favor." The politic Adi listened to her counsel, and hastening to Mediua, greeted the prophet, who was in the mosque. His own account of the in- terview presents a striking picture of the simple manners and mode of life of Mahomet, now in the full exercise of sovereign power, aud the career of rapid conquest. " He asked me," saya Adi, " ray name, and when I gave it, invited me to accompany him to his home. On the way a weak emaciated woman accosted him. He Slopped and talked to her of her affairs. This, thought I to myself, is not very kingly. When we arrived at bis house, he gave me a Icatbem cushion stuffed with palm-leaves to sit upon, while he sat upon the bare ground. This, thought I, is not very princely ! ADra INTERVIEW WITH THE PROPHET, 283 "He thcD asked me three times to embrace Islamism. I replied, I * have a fkith of my own.' * I know thy faith/ said he, * better than thou dost thyself. As prince, thou takest one fourth of the booty from thy people. Is this Christian doctrine ? ' By these words I perceived him to be a prophet, who knew more than other men. " * Thou dost not incline to Islamism,' contin- ued he, ' because thou seest we are poor. The time is at hand when true believers will have more wealth than they will know how to man- age. Perhaps thou art deterred by seeing the small number of the Moslems in comparison with the hosts of their enemies. By Allah ! in a little while a Moslem woman will be able to make a pilgrimage on her camel, alone and fearless, from Kadesia to Gk)d'8 temple at Mecca. Thou think- est, probably, that the might is in the hands of the unbelievers ; know that the time is not far off when we will plant our standards on the white castles of Babylon.' " ^ The politic Adi believed in the prophecy, and forthwith embraced the faith. 1 Weil's Mohammed^ p. 247. CHAPTER XXXm. PrflpBratiooB for an Espeiiition agaioBl: Syria. — In trigaes of Abdallah Ibn Obba. — Contrlbutiona of the Faithflil.— M»rch of the Anuy.— The Aucnrsed Region of Hajar. — Eneampmeiit U Tabuc. — Subjugation of lb o neighboring Provinces. — Klmlad jutpfises Okalder HDd bia Caatle. — Eetuni of tbe Anny to Mediaa, R^l AI-IOMET had now. either by cotiTersion E|rnl jN or con^jnest, loade himself aoTereign of P*-*"**-^ almost all Arabia. The scattered tribes, hereloforo dangerous to each other, but by their diHiiuioiL powerlesa against the rest of the world, he had united into one natiou, and thus fitted for ezteraal conquest. His prophetic character gave him absolute control of the formidable power thns conjured up in tbe desert, and he was now pre- pared lo lead it forth for the propagation of the ■faith, and the extension of tbe Moslem power in foreign lands. Ilia numerous victories, and tbe recent affair at Muta, bad at length, it is said, roused the attention of the Emperor Heraclius, who was aaaembling an army on the confines of Arabia to cruBh this new enemy. Mahomet determined to anticipate his hostilities, and to carry the standard of the faith into the very heart of Syria. Hitherto he had undertaken hia expeditions SYRIAN CAMPAIGN, 285 with secrecy ; imparting his plans and intentions to none but his most confidential officers, and be- guiling his followers into enterprises of danger. The present campaign, however, so different from the brief predatory excursions of the Arabs, would require great preparations ; an unusual force was to be assembled, and all kinds of provision made for distant marches, and a long absence. He pro- claimed openly, therefore, the object and nature of the enterprise. There was not the usual readiness to flock to his standard. Many remembered the disastrous affair at Muta, and dreaded to come again in conflict with disciplined Roman troops. The time of year also was unpropitious for such a distant and prolonged expedition. It was the season of summer heat; the earth was parched, and the springs and brooks were dried up. The date- harvest too was approaching, when the men should be at home to gather the fruit, rather than abroad on predatory enterprises. All these things were artfully urged upon the people by Abdallah Ibn Obba, the KHiazradite, who continued to be the covert enemy of Mahomet, and seized every occasion to counteract his plans. " A fine season this," would he cry, " to undertake such a distant march in defiance of dearth and drought, and the fervid heat of the desert ! Ma- homet seems to think a war with Greeks quite a matter of sport ; trust me, you will find it very different from a war of Arab against Arab. By Allah ! methinks I already see you all in chains." By tiiese and similar scoffs and suggestions, he 28G MABOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. wrought upon the fears an'l feelings of the Khaz- rodjtea, his partisans, and rendered the enterpriee generally unpopular. Mahomet, as usual, had resort to revelation. " Those who would remwn behind, and refuse to devote themaelvea to the service of God," said n timely chapter of the Koran, " allege the Bummer heat as an excuse. Tell tliem the fire of hell is hotter ! They may hug themselves in the enjoyment of present safety, but endless t<:ars will be their punishment here- Some of his devoted adherents manifested their zeal at this lukewarm moment Omar, Al Abbas, and Abda'lrahman, gave large sums of money ; several female devotees brought their ornaments and jewels. Othman delivered one thousand, some say ten thousand, dinars to Mahomet, and was . absolved from his sins, past, present, or to come. Ahu Bfker gave four thousand drachmas ; Maho- met hesitated to accept the ofler knowing it to be all that he poaseased. " What wiU remain," said he, " for thee and thy family ? " " God and his prophet," was the reply. These devout examples had a powerful effect; yet it was with much difficulty that an army of ten thousand horse and twenty thousand foot was assembled. Mahomet now appointed Ali governor of Medina during his absence, and guardian of both their families. He accepted the trust with great reluctance, having been accustomed always to accompany the prophet, and share all his perils. All arrangements being completed, Mahomet marched forth irom Medina on this momentoua PERFIDY OF ABDALLAH. 287 expedition. A part of his army was composed of Khazradites and their confederates, led by Abdallah Ibn Obba. This man, whom Mahomet had well denominated the Chief of the Hypocrites, encamped separately with his adherents at night, at some distance in the rear of the main army ; and when the latter marched forward in the morn- ing, lagged behind and led his troops back to Medina. Repairing to Ali, whose dominion in the city was irksome to him and his adherents, he endeavored to make him discontented with his position, alleging that Mahomet had left him in charge of Medina solely to rid himself of an in- cumbrance. Stung by the suggestion, Ali has- tened after Mahomet, and demanded if what Ab- dallah and his followers said were true. " These men," replied Mahomet, " are liars. They are the party of Hypocrites and Doubters, who would breed sedition in Medina. I left thee behind to keep watch over them, and to be a guardian to both our families. I would have thee to be to me what Aaron was to Moses ; excepting that thou canst not be, like him, a prophet ; I being the last of the prophets." With this explanation Ali returned contented to Me- dina. Many have inferred from the foregoing, that Mahomet intended Ali for his Caliph or successor ; that being the signification of the Arabic word used to denote the relation of Aaron to Moses. The troops who had continued on with Ma- homet soon began to experience the difficulties of braving the desert in this sultry season. Many 288 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. tamed back on the second day ; aad others on. the third and fourth. Whenever word was brought to the prophet of their desertion, "Let them go," would be tlio reply ; " if they are good for anything God will bring them back to us j if they are not, we are relieved from so many in- cumbrances." While some thus lost heart upon the march, others who had remained at Medina repented of their faint-heartednesa. One, named Abu Kbai- thama, entering his garden during the sultry heat of the day, beheld a repast of viands and fresh water spread for him by his two wives in the cool shade of a tent. Pausing at the threshold, " At this moment," exclaimed he, " the prophet of Giod is exposed to the winds and heats of the desert, and shall Khaithama sit here in the shade Iieside his beauiifiil wives ? By Allah I I will not enter the tent \ " He immediately armed himself with sword and lance, and mounting his camel, hastened off to join the standard of the feith. In the meantime the army, after a weary mnrch of seven days, entered the mountainous district of Hajar, inhabited in days of old by the Tha- muditos, one of the lost tribea of Arabia. It was the aer.ursed region, the tradition concerning which has already been related. The advance of the army, knowing nothing of this tradidon, and being heated and &tigued, beheld, with de- light, a brook running through a verdant valley, and cool caves cut in the aides of the neighboring hills, once the abodes of the heaven-smitt«ii THE ACCURSED REGION. 289 Thamudites. Halting along the brook, some prepared to bathe, others began to cook and make bread, while all promised themselves cool quarters for the night in the caves. Mahomet, in marching, had kept, as was his wont, in the rear of the army to assist the weak ; occasionally taking up a wayworn laggard behind him. Arriving at the place where the troops had halted, he recollected it of old, and the traditions concerning it, which had been told to him when he passed here in the days of his boyhood. Fearful of incurring the ban which hung over the neighborhood, he ordered his troops to throw away the meat cooked with the water of the brook, to give the bread kneaded with it to the camels, and to hurry away from the heaven-ac- cursed place. Then wrapping his face in the folds of his mantle, and setting spurs to his mule, he hastened through that sinful region ; the army following him as if flying from an enemy. The succeeding night was one of great suffer- ing; the army had to encamp without water; the weather was intensely hot, with a parching wind from the desert ; and intolerable thirst pre- vailed throughout the camp, as though the Tha- mudite ban still hung over it. The next day, however, an abundant rain refreshed and invigor- ated both man and beast The march was re- sumed with new ardor, and the army arrived, without further hardship, at Tabuc, a small town on the confines of the Roman empire, about half way between Medina and Damascus, and about ten days' journey from either city. VOL. II. 19 20O .VAHOMET AND n/S SUCCESSORS. Here Mahomet pitched his camp in the neigh- borhood of a fountain, and id the midst of groves and pastiimge. Ai'abian traditioua affirm that the fountain was nearly dry ; insomuch that, when a small vase was filled for the prophet, not a drop was left : having assuaged his thirat, however, and made his uhlutions, Mahomet threw what remained in the vaae back into the fountain ; whereupon a stream gitshed forth sufficient for the troops and all the cattle. From this encampment Mahomet sent out his captains to proclaim and enforce the faith, or to exact tribule. Some of the neighboring princes sent embassies, either acknowledging the divinity of his mission, or submitting to his temporal sway. One of these was Johanna Ihn Kuba, prince of Eyla, a Christian dty, near the Red Sea. This was the same city about which the tradition is told, that in days of old, when ite inhabitants were Jews, the old men were turned into swine, and the young men into monkeys, for fishing on the Sabbath, a judgment solemnly recorded in tha The prince of Eyla made a covenant of peace with Mahomet, agreeing to pay an annual tribata of three thousand dinars or crowns of gold. The form of tlie covenant became a precedent in treat- ing with other powers. Among the Arab princes who profe-ssed the Christian faith, and refused to pay homage to Ma- homet, was OkaJder Ibn Malec, of the tribe of Kenda. He resided in a castle at the toot of a mountain, in the midst of his domain. Khaled CAPTURE OF OKAIDER, 291 was sent with a troop of horse to bring him to terms. Seeing the castle was too strong to be carried by assault, he had recourse to stratagem. One moonlight night, as Okaider and his wife were enjoying the fresh air on the terraced roof of the castle, they beheld an animal grazing, which they supposed to be a wild ass from the neigh- boring mountains. Okaider, who was a keen huntsman, ordered horse and lance, and sallied forth to the chase, accompanied by his brother Hassan and several of his people. The wild ass proved to be a decoy. They had not ridden far before Khaled and his men rushed from ambush and attacked them. They were too lightly armed to make much resistance. Hassan was killed on the spot, and Okaider taken prisoner ; the rest fled back to the castle ; which, however, was soon surrendered. The prince was ultimately set at liberty on paying a heavy ransom and becoming a tributary. As a trophy of the victory, KHialed sent to Mahomet the vest stripped from the body of Hassan. It was of silk, richly embroidered with gold. The Moslems gathered round, and exam- ined it with admiration. " Do you admire this vest ? " said the prophet. " I swear by him in whose hands is the soul of Mahomet, the vest which Saad, the son of Maadi, wears at this mo- ment in paradise, is fer more precious." This Saad was the judge who passed sentence of death on seven hundred Jewish captives at Medina, at the conclusion of a former campaign. His troops being now refreshed by the sojourn 292 MASOMET A!^D HIS SUCCESSORS. at Tabuc, and the neigliboring country being brought into subjection, Mahomet was bent opon prosecuting the object of his campaign, aud push- ing forward into the heart of Syria. Hia ardor, however, was not shared by bis followers. In- teliigence of immense bodies of boatile troops, assembled on the Syrian borders, had damped the spirits of the army. Mahomet remarked the general diBCOuragement, yet was loath to abandon the campaign when but half completed. Calling a council of war, he propounded the question whether or not to continue forward. To this Omar replied dryly, " If thou hast the command of God to proceed fiirther, do so." " If I had the command of God lo proceed further," ob- served Mahomet, " I should not have asked thy counsel." Omar felt the rebuke. He then, in a respect- ful tone, represented the impolicy of advancing in the face of the overwhelming force saii to be collected on the Syrian frontier ; he represented, also, hofv much Mahomet had already eflected in this campaign. He had checked the threatened invasion of the imperial arms, and had received the homage and submission of various tribes and people, from the head of the Red Sea to the Euphrates : he advised him, therefore, to be con- tent for the present year with what he had achieved, and to deiiir the completion of the en- terprise to a future campaigu. His counsel was adopted : for, whenever Ma- homet was not under strong excitement, or fancied inspiration, he was rather prone to yield RETURN TO MEDINA. 203 Up his opmion in military matters to that of bis generals. After a sojourn of about twenty days, tJierefore, at Tabuc, be broke np his camp, and coodacted his army back to Medina. CHAPTER XSSJV. riumphal Entry into Medina, -Pun rBhmon 1 of fhow wlio had refused (o join Lhe Campaign. — Effeoi nicalion, - Doslli of Abdallah Ibu Obba. - llie PropbBfs Harem. Ijll^b^ll-IE Gutries of Mahomet into Medina on I^^JI I'ut.iii'Diiig from bis warlike tiiumphs, ||gg.*^J| p:u'took of tbe ainiplicity and absence of parade, which characterized all his actions. On approaching the city, when his hoaaehold came forth with tlie multitude to meet him, be would stop to greet them, and take np the children of the house behind him on his horse. It was in this simple way he entered Medina, on r&- turning from the campaign against Tabuc. The arrival of an aiTny laden with spoil, gath- ered in the most distant espeditjon ever under- taken by the soldiers of Islam, was an event of too great moment, not to be hailed with triumph- ant exultation by the community. Those alone were cast down in spirit, who had I'efiised to march forth with the army, or had deserted it when on the march. All these were at first placed under an interdict ; Mahomet forbidding his &ithji)l followers to hold any intercourse with them. MolKfied, however, by their contrition or excuses, he gradually forgave the greater pai't of DEATH OF ABD ALLAH IBN OBBA. 205 them. Seven of those who continued under interdict, finding themselves cut off from com- munion with their acquaintance, and marked with opprobrium amid an exulting community, became desperate, and chained themselves to the walls of the mosque ; swearing to remain there until pardoned. Mahomet, on the other hand, swore he would leave them there unless otherwise com- manded by Grod. Fortunately he received the command in a revealed verse of the Koran ; but, in freeing them from their self-imposed fetters, he exacted one third of their possessions, to be ex- pended in the service of the faith. Among those still under interdict were Kaab Ibn Malec, Murara Ibn- Rabia, and Hilal Ibn Omeya. These had once been among the most zealous of professing Moslems ; their defection was, therefore, ten times more heinous in the eyes of the prophet, than that of their neighbors, whose faith had been lukewarm and dubious. Toward them, therefore, he continued implacable. Forty days they remained interdicted, and the interdict extended to communication with their wives. The account given by Kaab Ibn Malec of his situation, while thus excommunicated, presents a vivid picture of the power of Mahomet over the minds of his adherents. Kaab declared that every- body shunned him, or regarded him with an altered mien. His two companions in disgrace did not leave their home ; he, however, went about from place to place, but no one spake to him. He sought the mosque, sat down near the prophet, and saluted him, but his salutation was not re- 206 MAffOMET AND IIJS S17CCESS0R8. tamed. On the forty-firet day came n cominaiid, that lie shonltl separate irum hia wife. He now left tlie dtj, and pitched a tent on the hill of Sala, determined there to undergo in its aevereat rigor the punishment meted out to him. His heart, however, waa dying away ; tlie wide world, he Baid, appeared to grow narrow to him. On the iiily-flrat day came a messenger holding out the hope of pardon. He hastened to Medina, and sought the prophet at the mosque, who re- ceived him with a radiant countenance, and said that God had forgiven him. The soul of Saab waa lifted up from the depths of despondency, and in the transporta of his gratitude, he gave a portion of his wealth in atonement of his error. Not long after the return of the army to Medina, A-bdallah Ibn Obha, the Khazradite, " the chief of the Hypocrites," fell ill, so that hia life was despiured of. Although Mahomet was well aware of the perfidy of this man, and the secret arts he had constantly practiced against him, he viailed him repeatedly during hia illness ; was with him at his dying hour, and followed his body to the grave. There, at the urgent entreaty of the son of the deceased, he put up prayers that his sins might be forgiven. Omar privately remonstrated with Mahnmet for praying for a hypocrite ; reminding him how often he had been slandered by Abdallah ; but he was shrewdly answered by a text of the Koran : " Thou mayst pray for the ' Hypocrites ' or not, as thou wilt; hut though thou shonldst pray seventy times, yet will they not be forgiven."' DISSENSIONS IN THE HAREM. 297 The prayers at Abdallah's grave, therefore, were put up out of policy, to win favor with the Khaz- radites, and the powerful friends of the deceased ; and in this respect the prayers were successful, for most of the adherents of the deceased became de- voted to the prophet, whose sway was thenceforth undisputed in Medina. Subsequently he an- nounced another revelation, which forbade him to pray by the death-bed or stand by the grave of any one who died in unbelief. But though Mahomet exercised such dominion over his disciples, and the community at large, he had great difficulty in governing his wives, and maintaining tranquillity in his harem. He appears to have acted with tolerable equity in his con- nubial concerns, assigning to each of his wives a separate habitation, of which she was sole mistress, and passing the twenty-four hours with them by turns. It so happened, that on one occasion, when he was sojourning with Hafsa, the latter left her dwelling to visit her father. Returning unexpect- edly, she surprised the prophet with his favorite and fortunate slave Mariyah, the mother of his son Ibrahim. The jealousy of Hafsa was vocifer- ous. Mahomet endeavored to pacify her, dread- ing lest her outcries should rouse his whole harem to rebellion ; but she was only to be appeased by an oath on his part never more to cohabit with Mariyah. On these terms she forgave the past, and promised secrecy. She broke her promise, however, and revealed to Ayesha the infidelity of the prophet ; and in a little while it was known throughout the harem. 298 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS, His wives now united in a storm of reproaches ; until, his patience being exhausted, he repudiated Hafsa, and renounced all intercourse with the rest For a month he lay alone on a mat in a separate apartment ; but Allah, at length, in consideration of his lonely state, sent down the first and sixth chapters of the Koran, absolvmg hhn. from the oath respecting Mariyah, who forthwith became the companion of his solitary chamber. The refractory wives were now brought to a sense of their error, and apprised by the same rev- elation that the restrictions imposed on ordinary men did not apply to the prophet In the end he took back Hafsa, who was penitent ; and he was reconciled to Ayesha, whom he tenderly loved, and all the rest were in due time received into favor ; but he continued to cherish Mariyah, for she was fair to look upon, and was the mother of his only son. # I CHAPTER XSXV. . of Ali t JHE sacred month of yearly pilgrimflge :it hatiA, but Mabomet was I too much occupied with public and do- ) nbseiit liimself from Medina; he deputed Abu Beker, therefore, to act in hia piace as emir or commander of the pilgrims, who were !o resort from Mediua to the holy city. Abu Beker accordingly departed at the head of three hundred pilgrims, with twenty camels for BBcrifice. Sot long afterwards Mahomet summoned hU aoD-in-law and devoted disciple All, and, mount- ing him on Al Adha, or the slit-esred, the swift- est of his camels, urged him to hasten with all speed to Mecca, there to promulgate before the multitude of pilgrims assembled from all parts, Bn important aura, or chapter of ihe Koran, jaat received from heaven. Ali executed his mission with his accnstomed zeal and fidelity. He reached the sacred city ia the height of the great religious festival. On Cof sacrifice, when the ceremonies of pil- were completed by the slaying of the BCn MABOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. victims in ^e Valley of Blina, and when Abu Bbkcr had preached and inatructed Ibe people in the doctrines and riles of iHlmnism, Ali rose be- fore an immense multitude assembled at the hill Al Akaba, and announced himself a messenger from the prophet, bearing an important revela- tion. He then read the sura, or chapter of the Koran, of which he was the bearer ; in which the religion of the sword waa declared in all its rigor. It absolved Mahomet from all truce or league with idolatrous and other unbelievers, should they in any wise have been false to their stipulations, or given aid to hia enemies. It al- lowed unbelievers four months of toleration from the time of thiK ajinounccment, during which months tliey might " go to and fro about the earth securely," but at the expiration of that time all indulgence would cease ; war would then be made in every way, at every lime and in every place, by open force or by stratagem, against those who persbted in unbelief: no al- ternative would be \eii them but to embrace the fwth, or pay tribute. The holy months and the holy places would no longer aSbrd them protec- tion. " When the months wherein ye are not allowed to attack them shall be passed," said tbe revelation, " kill the idolatrous wherever ye shall find them, or lake them pri.soners ; besiege them, or lay in wait for them." The ties of blood and friendship were to be alike disregarded ; the faith- fill were to hold no communion with their near- est relatives and dearest friends, should ihey per- sist in idolatry. After the expiration of the IMPORTANT REVELATION, 301 current year, no unbeliever was to be permitted to tread the sacred bounds of Mecca, nor to en- ter the temple of Allah, a prohibition which con- tinues to the present day. This stringent chapter of the Koran is thought to have been provoked, in a great measure, by the conduct of some of the Jewish and idola- trous Arabs, with whom Mahomet had made covenants, but who had repeatedly played him false, and even made treacherous attempts upon his life. It evinces, however, the increased con- fidence he felt in consequence of the death of his insidious and powerful foe, Abdallah Ibn Obba, and the rapid conversion or subjugation of the Arab tribes. It was, in fact, a decisive blow for the exclusive domination of his faith. When Abu Beker and Ali returned to Mecca, the former expressed surprise and dissatisfaction that he had not been made the promulgator of 80 important a revelation, as it seemed to be con- nected with his recent mission, but he was paci- fied by the assurance that ali new revelations must be announced by the prophet himself, or by some one of his immediate family. (^ CHAPTER XSXVI. All! Enterprises. — Ap- .bia Pelii. — Send»Ali PrOTinca, — Death of -HJB CoDdnct at tlia I Uia Propbet'a only Son Ibraliin: Deatb-bed and the Grave. — His growing InfirmitJea.— His ralediulury I'ilgrimage to Jlecca, and bis Conduct and Priiaiiiiing wbile tliera. I^S^HJHE promulgatioD of the Ijat-mentioned l^^l eljitpter of the Koraa, with the ttccom- 1"**^"| panning deaunciation of exterminating war iigiiiiist all who aliould refuse to believe or submit, produuGd hosts of converts and tributa- ries ; so that, towards the close of the montb, and in the beginniog of the tenth year of the Hegira, the gates of Medina wore thronged with enroys from distant tribes aud princes. Among those who bowed to the temporal power of the prophet was Farwa, lieutenant of Heracliiis, in Syria, and governor of Amon, the ancient capital of the Ammonites. His act of submission, how- ever, was disavowed by the emperor, and pun- ished with imprisonment. Mahomet felt and acted more and more as a sovereign, but his grandest schemes as a conqueror were always sanctified by his zeal as an apostle. His captains were sent on more distant expedi- tions than formerly, but it was always with a MISSION OF ALT TO YEMEN. 303 view to destroy idols, and bring idolatrous tribes to subjection ; so that his temporal power but kept pace with the propagation of his faith. He appointed two lieutenants to govern in his name in Arabia Felix ; but a portion of that rich and important country having shown itself refractory, Ali was ordered to repair thither at the head of three hundred horsemen, and bring the inhabi- tants to reason. The youthful disciple expressed a becoming diffidence to undertake a mission where he would have to treat with men far older and wiser than himself; but Mahomet laid one hand upon his lips, and the other upon his breast, and rais- ing his eyes to heaven exclaimed, " 0, Allah ! loosen his tongue and guide his heart ! " He gave him one rule for his conduct as a judge. " When two parties come before thee, never pronounce in favor of one until thou hast heard the other." Then, giving into his hands the standard of the faith, and placing the turban on his head, he bade him farewell. When the military missionary arrived in the heretical region of Yemen, his men, indulging their ancient Arab propensities, began to sack, to plunder, and destroy. Ali checked their ex- cesses, and arresting the fugitive inhabitants, be gan to expound to them the doctrines of Islam. His tongue, though so recently consecrated by the prophet, failed to carry conviction, for he was answered by darts and arrows ; whereupon he returned to the old argument of the sword, which he urged with such efficacy, that, after twenty 304 .VAHOilET AND SIS SaCCESSOBS. unbelievers had been slaiD, the rest avowed themselyea thoroughly convinced. This zealoua achievemeat was faUowed by others of a similar kittd, atier each of whicii he dispatched mes- sengers to the prophet announcing a nuw tri- umph of tiie faith. While Mahomet was exulting in the tidinge of success from every quarter, he vvas striclten to the heart by one of the severest domestic be- reaveraenls. Ibrahim, his aon by his favorite coucubine Mariyah, a child but Sneeu months old, lib only male issue, ou whom reposed )ua hope of transmitting bis name tu posterity, was seized with a mortal malady, and expired before his eyes. Mahomet could not control a father's feelings as he bent in agony over this blighted bloaaom of his hopes. Yet even in this trying hour he showed that submission to the will of Gtod which Ibrmed the foundation of his faith. " My heart is sad," murmured he, " and mine eyes overflow with tears at parting with thee, my aon 1 And still greater would be my grief, did I not know that I must soon follow thee ; for we are of God, from him we ctirae, and to him we mnat return." Abd'lrahman seeing him in tears, demanded : " Hast thou not forbidden us to weep for the dead ? " " No," replied the propheL " I have forbidden je to utter shrieks and outcries, to beat your faces, and rend your garments ; these are suggestions of the evil one : but tears shed for a calamity are as balm to the heart, and are sent in mercy," I MAHOMET AT HIS SON'S GRAVE, 305 He followed his child to the grave, where amidst the agonies of separation, he gave another proof that the elements of his religion were ever present to his mind. " My son ! my son ! " ex- claimed he, as the body was committed to the tomb, " say God is my Lord ! the prophet of God was my father, and Islamism is my faith ! " This was to prepare his child for the questioning by examining angels as to religious belief, which, according to Moslem creed, the deceased would undergo while in the grave.^ An eclipse of the sun which happened about that time, was interpreted by some of his zealous followers as a celestial sign of mourning for the death of Ibrahim; but the afflicted father re- jected such obsequious flattery. " The sun and moon," said he, " are among the wonders of God, 1 One of the funeral rites of the Moslems is for the Mulak- ken or priest to address the deceased, when in the grave, in the following words : " servant of God ! son of a hand- maid of God ! know that, at this time, there will come down to thee two angels commissioned respecting thee and the like of thee ; when they say to thee, ' Who is thy Lord V ' answer them, ^ God is my Lord,* in truth ; and when they ask thee concerning thy prophet, or the man who hath been sent unto you, say to them, * Mahomet is the apostle of God,' with ve- racity ; and when they ask thee concerning thy religion, say to them, ' Islamism is my religion.' And when they ask thee concerning thy book of direction, say to them, * The Ko- ran is my book of direction, and the Moslems are my broth- ers ; ' and when they ask thee concerning thy Kebia, say to them, * The Caaba is my Kebla, and I have lived and died in the assertion that there is no deity but God, and Mahomet is God's apostle ;' and they will say, * Sleep, O servant of God, in the protection of God ! ' " — See Lane's Modem Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 338. VOL. I. 20 S06 MAHOMET AyO BIS SUCCESSORS. through which at limes he signifies his will to his eervoulB ; hut their eclipse has nolhicg to do either with the birth or death of any morlal," The death of Ibrabim was a blow whidi bowed him toward the grave. His constitution was already impaired by the extraordinary ei- CLtements aiid paroxystas of his mind, and the physical trials to which he hiid been exposed ; the poison, too, adminiBiered to him at Kha'ibsr, had tainted the springs of life, subjected him to ex- cruciating pains, and brought on a premature old age. His religious zeal took the alarm from the increase of bodily infirmities, and he resolved to expend his remaining strength in a final pilgrim- age to Mecca ; intended lo serve as a model for all future observances of the kind. The auDouucement of his pious istention brought devotees from all parts of Arabia, to fol- low the pilgrim'prophet. Tlie streets of Medina were crowded with the various tribes from the towns and cities, from the fastnesses of the moun- tains, and the remote parts of the desert, and the surrounding valleys were studded with their teuta. It was a striking picture of the triumph of a faith — these recently disunited, barbarous, and warring tribes, brought together as brethren, and inspired by one sentiment of religious zeal. Mahomet was accompanied on this occasion by his nine wives, who were transported on litters. He departed at the head of an immense train, some say of fifty-five, others ninety, and others a hundred and fourteen thousand pilgrims- Thera was a large number of camels obo, decorated THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE, 307 with garlands of flowers and fluttering streamers, intended to be offered up in sacrifice. The first night's halt was a few miles from Medina, at the village of Dhu'l Holaifa, where, on former occasion, he and his followers had laid aside their weapons, and assumed the pilgrim garb. Early on the following morning, after praying in the mosque, he mounted his camel Al Aswa, and entering the plain of Baida, uttered the prayer or invocation called in Arabic Talbi- jah, in which he was joined by all his followers. The following is the import of this solemn invo- cation : " Here am I in thy service, O God ! Here am I in thy service ! Thou hast no com- panion. To thee alone belongeth worship. From thee Cometh all good. Thine alone is the king- dom. There is none to share it with thee." This prayer, according to Moslem tradition, was uttered by the patriarch Abraham, when, from the top of the hill of Kubeis, near Mecca, he preached the true faith to the whole human race, and so wonderful was the power of his voice, that it was heard by every living being throughout the world ; insomuch, that the very child in the womb responded, " Here am I in thy service, O Grod ! " In this way the pilgrim host pursued its course, winding in a lengthened train of miles, over mountain and valley, and making the deserts vo- cal at times with united prayers and ejaculations. There were no longer any hostile armies to im- pede or molest it, for by this time the Islam faith reigned serenely over all Arabia. Mahomet ap- 308 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. proached the sacred city over the same heights which he had traversed in capturing it, aud he entered through the gate Beni Scheiba, which still bears the name of The Holy. A few days after his arrival, he was joined by Ali, who had hastened back from Yemen; and who brought with him a number of camels to be slain in sacrifice. As this was to be a model pilgrimage, Ma- homet rigorously observed all the rites which he had continued in compliance with patriarchal usage, or introduced in compliance with revela- tion. Being too weak and infirm to go on foot, he mounted his camel, and thus performed the circuits round the Caaba, and the journeyings to and fro between the hills of Safa and Merwa. When the camels were to be offered up in sacrifice, he slew sixty-three with his own hand, one for each year of his age, and Ali, at the same time, slew thirty-seven on his own account. Mahomet then shaved his head, beginning on the right side, and ending on the left. The locks thus shorn away were equally divided among his disciples, and treasured up as sacred relics. Kha- led ever afterwards wore one in his turban, and affirmed that it gave him supernatural strength in battle. Conscious that life was waning away within him, Mahomet, during this last sojourn in the sa- cred city of his faith, sought to engrave his doc- trines deeply in the minds and hearts of his fol- lowers. For this purpose he preached frequently in the Caaba from the pulpit, or in the open air THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE, 309 from the back of his camel. " Listen to my words," would he say, " for I know not whether, after this year, we shall ever meet here again. O, my hearers, I am but a man like yourselves : the angel of death may at any time appear, and I must obey his summons." He would then proceed to inculcate not merely religious doctrines and ceremonies, but rules for conduct in all the concerns of life, public and do- mestic ; and the precepts laid, down and enforced on this occasion, have had a vast and durable influence on the morals, manners, and habitudes of the whole Moslem world. It was doubtless in view of his approaching end, and in solicitude for the welfare of his rel- atives and friends after his death, and especially of his favorite Ali, who, he perceived, had given dissatisfaction in the conduct of his recent cam- paign in Yemen, that he took occasion, during a moment of strong excitement and enthusiasm among his hearers, to address to them a solemn adjuration. " Ye believe," said he, " that there is but one God ; that Mahomet is his prophet and apostle ; that paradise and hell are truths ; that death and the resurrection are certain ; and that there is an appointed time when all who rise from the grave must be brought to judgment." They all answered, " We believe these things." He then adjured them solemnly by these dogmas of their faith ever to hold his family, and espe- cially Ali, in love and rqyerence. " Whoever loves me," said he, " let him receive Ali as. his of the EoraD is a heavea la the very 310. MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. irieud. Ma; God uphold those who befriend him, and may he turn from his enemies." It was at tlie condusion of one of his dis- courses ia the open air, from the bock c ' ' camel, that the famous said to have corae down i voice of the Deity. " I who have denied your religion. Fear them not, fear me. Thb day I have perfected your relig- ion, aDd accomplished in you my grace. It is my good pleasure that Tslamism be your faith." Od Leariug these words, say the Arabian biBto- rians, the camel Al Karwa, on which the prophet was seated, fell on its knees in adoration. These words, add they, were the seal and conclnsion of the law, for after them there were no further revelations. Having thus fulSlled all the rites and ceremo- nies of pilgrimage, and made a full exposition of his faith, Mahomet bade a last farewell to his na- tive city, and, putting himself at the head of his pilgrim army, set out on his return to Medina. As he cjime ia sight of it, he lifted up his voice and exclaimed, " God is great I God is great I There is but one Grod ; be has no companion. TfiH is the kiogdom. To him alone belongeth praise. He is almighty. He hath fulfilled his promise. He has stood by his servant, and alone disjmrsed his enetniea. Let us return to our homes, and worship and praise him I " Thns ended what has been termed the vale- dictory pilgrimage, being the last made by the CHAPTER XXXVII. Of the twq False ProphEU, Al Aawad and MoBUlIma. J HE health of Miihumet continaed to de- elino tift«r his return to Medina; never- theleas his ardor to extend his religious empire was unabated, and he prepared, on a. great scale, fljr the invasion of vSyria and Palestine. While he was meditating foreign conquest, how- ever, two rival prophets arose to dispute his sway in Arabia. One was named Al Aswiid, the other Moseilma; they receiveil from the faithftil the well-merited appellation of " The Two Liars." Al Aswad, a quick-witted man, and gifted with' persuasive eloquence, was ori^olly an idolater, then a concert to Islamism, &om which he apos- tatized to set up for a prophet, and establish a religion of his owa. Ilis fickleness in matters of fitith gained him the appellatjon of Ailhala. or "The Weathercock." In emulation of Mahomet he pretended to receive revelations from heaven through the medium of two angela. Being versed in juggling arts and natural magic, he natonished and confounded the multitude with spectral illu- sions, which he passed off as miracles, insomuch that certain Moslem writers believe he was really assisted by two evil genii or demons. His scliemes. k 312 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. for a time, were crowned with great success, which shows how unsettled the Arabs were in those days in matters of religion, and how ready to adopt any new faith. Budhan, the Persian whom Mahomet had con- tinued as viceroy of Arabia Felix, died in this year ; whereupon Al Aswad, now at the head of a powerfiil sect, slew his son and successor, es- poused his widow after putting her father to death, and seized upon the reins of government. The people of Najran invited him to their city; the gates of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, were like- wise thrown open to him, so that, in a little while, all Arabia Felix submitted to his sway. The news of this usurpation found Mahomet suffering in the first stages of a dangerous malady, and engrossed by preparations for the Syrian in- vasion. Impatient of any interruption to his plans, and reflecting that the whole danger and difficulty in question depended upon the life of an individual, he sent orders to certain of his ad- herents, who were about Al Aswad, to make way with him openly or by stratagem, either way being justifiable against enemies of the faith, according to the recent revelation promulgated by Ali. Two persons undertook the task, less, however, through motives of religion than revenge. One, named Rais, had received a mortal offense from the usur- per ; the other, named Firuz the Dailemite, was cousin to Al As wad's newly espoused wife, and nephew of her murdered father. They repaired to the woman, whose marriage with the usurper had probably been compulsory, and urged upon FALSE PROPHETS. 313 her the duty, according to the Arab law of blood, of avenging the deaths of her father and her former to husband. With much difficulty they pre- vailed upon her to facilitate their entrance at the dead of night in the chamber of Al Aswad, who was asleep. Firuz stabbed him in the throat with a poniard. The blow was not effectual. Al As- wad started up, and his cries alarmed the guard. His wife, however, went forth and quieted them. " The prophet," said she, *' is under the influence of divine inspiration." By this time the cries had ceased, for the assassins had stricken off the head of their victim. When the day dawned the standard of Mahomet floated once more on the walls of the city, and a herald proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, the death of Al Aswad, other- wise called the Liar and Impostor. His career of power began, and was terminated, within the space of four months. The people, easy of faith, resumed Islamism with as much facility as they had abandoned it. Moseflma, the other impostor, was an Arab of the tribe of Honeifa, and ruled over the city and province of Yamama, situated between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Persia. In the ninth year of the Hegira he had come to Mecca at the head of an embassy from his tribe, and had made pro- fession of faith between the hands of Mahomet ; but, on returning to his own country, had pro- claimed that God had gifted him likewise with prophecy, and appointed him to aid Mahomet in converting the human race. To this effect he likewise wrote a Koran, which he gave forth as 314 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. a volume of inspired truth. His creed was noted for giving the soul a humiliating residence in the region of the abdomen. Being a man of influence and address, he soon made hosts of converts among his credulous coun- trymen. Rendered confident by success, he ad- dressed an epistle to Mahomet, beginning as fol- lows : " From Mose'ilma the prophet of Allah, to Mahomet the prophet of Allah! Come, now, and let us make a partition of the world, and let half be thine and half be mine." This letter came also to the hands of Maho- met, while bowed down by infirmities and en- grossed by military preparations. He contented himself for the present with the following reply : " From Mahomet the prophet of Grod, to Mo- sei'lma the Liar ! The earth is the Lord's, and he giveth it as an inheritance to such of his servants as find favor in his sight. Happy shall those be who live in his fear." In the urgency of other affairs, the usurpation of Moseilma remained unchecked. His punish- ment was reserved for a future day. I An Army pmpared to mamh against Syria. — giventoOsama, — The Prophel's Farewell Address to tbe Troops. — His Last Illness. — Ills Serniona iu tha Mosque. — His Death and [he Attending CircnmstatLCiis. BB^MJT was e«rly in the eleventb year of the SJ» !D1 Hegira Chnt, itfier uiiuruhI prepamtions, If"*^^ a powerful ai-my wna ready to march for the invasion of Syria. It would almoat seem a proof of the failing powers of Maliomet'H mind, that he gave the command of such an army, on such an expedition, to Osama, a youth but twenty yeara of age, mstead of aome one of his veteran and weU-tried generals. It seems to have been a mailer of favor, dictated by tender and grateful recollections. Oaama wiis the son of Zeic], Mahomet's devoted freedman, who had given the prophet such a signal and acceptable proof of devotion in relinquishing lo him hia beautiful wife Zeinab. Zeid had coDtinued to the last the same zealous and self-sacrificing dis- dple, and had fallen bravely fighting for the failh ID (he battle of Muta. Mahomet was aware of the hazard of the choice he had made, and feared the troops might be iji- Bubordinate under so young a commander. In a 316 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. general review, therefore, he exhorted them to obe- dience, reminding them that Osama's father, Zeid, had commanded an expedition of this very kind, against the very same people, and had fallen by their hands ; it was but a just tribute to his memory, therefore, to give his son an opportunity of avenging his death. Then placing his banner in the hands of the youthful general, he called upon him to fight valiantly the fight of the faith against all who should deny the unity of God^ The army marched forth that very day, and en- camped at Djorf, a few miles from Medina ; but circumstances occurred to prevent its further progress. That very night Mahomet had a severe access of the malady which for some time past had af- fected him, and which was ascribed by some to the lurking effects of the poison given to him at Khaibar. It commenced with a violent pain in the head, accompanied by vertigo^ and the delir- ium which seems to have mingled with all his paroxysms of illness. Starting up in the mid- watches of the night from a troubled dream, he called upon an attendant slave to accompany him ; saying he was summoned by the dead who lay interred in the public burying-place of Medina to come and pray for them. Followed by the slave, he passed through the dark and silent city, where all were sunk in sleep, to the great bury- ing-ground, outside of the walls. Arrived in the midst of the tombs, he lifted up his voice and made a solemn apostrophe to their tenants. " Rejoice, ye, dwellers in the grave ! *' LAST ILLNESS OF TEE PROPHET. 317 exclaimed he. "More peaceful is the morning to which ye shall awaken, than that which at- tends the living. Happier is your condition than theirs. God has delivered vou from the storms with which they are threatened, and which shall follow one another like the watches of a stormy night, each darker than that which went before." After praying for the dead, he turned and ad- dressed his slave. " The choice is given me," said he, " either to remain in this world to the end of time, in the enjoyment of all its delights, or to return sooner to the presence of God ; and I have chosen the latter." From this time his illness rapidly increased, though he endeavored to go about as usual, and shifted his residence from day to day, with his different wives, as he had been accustomed to do. He was in the dwelling of Maimona, when the violence of his malady became so great, that he saw it must soon prove fatal. His heart now yearned to be with his favorite wife Ayesha, and pass with her the fleeting residue of life. With his head bound up, and his tottering frame sup- ported by Ali, and Fadhl the son of Al Abbas, he repaired to her abode. She,' likewise, was suffering with a violent pain in the head, and en- treated of him a remedy. " Wherefore a remedy ? " said he. " Better that thou shouldst die before me. I could then close thine eyes ; wrap thee in thy funeral garb ; lay thee in the tomb, and pray for thee." "Yes," replied she, "and then return to my house and dwell with one of thy other wives, who would profit by my death." 318 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. Mahomet smiled at this expression of jealouB fondness, and resigned himself into her care. His only remaining child, Falima, the wife of Ali, came presently to Bee hira. Ayesha used to Bay that she never saw any one resemhie (he prophet more in a^eelness of temper, than ibis his daughter. He treated her always with re- Bpectfiil tenderness. When she came to Lim, he used n> rise up, go towards her, take her hy the hand, and kiss it, and would seat her in his own place. Their meeting on this occasion is thus related by Ayesha, in the traditions preserved by Abulfeda. " ' Welcome, my child,' said the prophet, and made her sit beside him. He [hen whispered something in her ear, at which she wept. Per- ceiving tier affliction, he wliispered something more, and her comiteuance brightened with joy. " ' What is the meaning of this ? ' said I to Fa- tima. ' The prophet honors thee with a mark of confidence never besiowcd on any of his wives.' ' I cannot disclose the secret of the prophet of God,' replied Fatima. Nevertheless, after his death, she declared that at first iie announced to her bis impendiog death ; but seeing her weep, consoled her with the assurance that she would shortly follow him, and become a princess in heaven, among the faithfnl of her sex." In the second day of his illness Mahomet was tormented by a burning fever, and caused veseels of water to be emptied on his head and over bis body; exclaiming amidst hia paroxyams, "Now I feel the poison of KhaJbar rending my entrails." SERVICES IN THE MOSQUE. 319 When somewhat relieved, he was aided in re- pairing to the mosque, which was adjacent to his residence. Here, seated in his chair, or pulpit, he prayed devoutly ; after which, addressing the congregation, which was numerous, " If any of you," said he, " have aught upon his conscience, let him speak out, that 1 njay ask God's pardon for him." Upon this a man, who had passed for a devout Moslem, stood forth and confessed himself a hypocrite, a liar, and a weak disciple. "Out upon thee I " cried Omar, " why dost thou make known what Grod had suffered to remain con- cealed ? " But Mahomet turned rebukingly to Omar. ** O son of Khattab," said he, " better is it to blush in this world, than suffer in the next." Then lifting his eyes to heaven, and praying for the self-accused, " O God," exclaimed he, " give him rectitude and faith, and take from him all weakness in fulfilling such of thy com- mands as his conscience dictates." Again addressing the congregation, " Is there any one among you," said he, " whom I have stricken; here is my back, let him strike me in return. Is there any one whose character I have aspersed ; let him now cast reproach upon me. Is there any one from whom I have taken aught unjustly; let him now come forward and be indemnified." Upon this, a man among the throng reminded Mahomet of a debt of three dinars of silver, and was instantly repaid with interest. '* Much eas- ier is it," said the prophet, " to bear punishment in this world than throughout eternity." 320 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. He now prayed fervently for the faithful, who had fallen by his side in the battle of Ohod, and for those who had suffered for the faith in other battles ; interceding with them in virtue of the pact which exists between the living and the dead. After this he addressed the Mohajerins or Ex- iles, who had accompanied him from Mecca, ex- horting them to hold in honor the Ausarians, or allies of Medina. "The number of believers," said he, "will increase, but that of the allies never can. They were my family with whom I found a home. Do good to those who do good to them, and break friendship with those who are hostile to them." He then gave three parting commands : . First, — Expel all idolaters from Arabia. Second, — Allow all proselytes equal privi- leges with yourselves. Third, — Devote yourselves incessantly to prayer. His sermon and exhortation being finished, he was affectionately supported back to the man- sion of Ayesha, but was so exhausted on arriv- ing there that he fainted. His malady increased from day to day, ap- parently with intervals of delirium, for he spoke of receiving visits from the angel Gabriel, who came from God to inquire after the state of his health ; and told him that it rested with himself to fix his dying moment ; the angel of death being forbidden by Allah to enter his presence without his permission. LAST APPEARANCE LV PUBLIC. 321 In one of his paroxysms he called for writ- ing implements, that he might leave some rules of conduct for his followers. His attendants were troubled, fearing he might do something to impair the authority of the Koran. Hearing them debate among themselves, whether to com- ply with his request, he ordered them to leave the room, and when they returned said nothing more on the subject. On Friday, the day of religious assemblage, he prepared, notwithstanding his illness, to offici- ate in the mosque, and had water again poured over him to refresh and strengthen him, but on making an effort to go forth, fainted. On re- covering, he requested Abu Beker to perform the public prayers ; observing, " Allah has given his servant the right to appoint whom he pleases in his place." It was afterwards maintained by some that he thus intended to designate this long tried friend and adherent as his successor in office ; but Abu Beker shrank from construing the words too closely. Word was soon brought to Mahomet, that the appearance of Abu Beker in the pulpit had caused great agitation, a rumor being circulated that the prophet was des^. Exerting his re- maining strength, therefore, and leaning on the shoulders of Ali and Al Abbas, he made his way into the mosque, where his appearance spread joy throughout the congregation. Abu Beker ceased to pray, but Mahomet bade him proceed, and taking his seat behind him in the pulpit, re- peated the prayers after him. Then addressing VOL. I. 21 322 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. the congregation, " I have heard," said he, " that a i-umor of the death of your prophet filled you with alarm ; hut has any prophet before me lived for ever, that ye think I would, never leave you ? Every thing happeua aecording to the will of God, and has its appointed time, which is not to be hastened nor avoided. I return to him who sent me ; and my lust command to you is, that ye remain united ; that ye lore, honor, and up- hold each other ; tha,t ye exhort each other to faith and coastaocy in belief, and to the perform- ance of pious deeds ; by these alone men pros- per ; all else leada to destruction." In concluding hia eihortation, he added, " I do but go before you ; you will soon follow me. Death awaits us all ; let no one then seek to turn it aside fix>m me. My life has been for your good ; so will be my death," These were the last words he spafee in pablic ; he was again conducted back by Ali and Abbaa to the dwelling of Ayeaha. On a succeeding day there was an interval during which he appeared so well that Ali, Abu Beker, Omar, and the rest of those who had been constantly about him, absented themselves for a time, to attend to their affairs. Ayesha alone re- mained with him. The interval was but illusive. His pains returned with redoubled violence. Finding death approachiEg, he gave orders that all hia slaves should be restored to freedom, and all the money in the house distributed among the poor i then raising hie eyes to heaven, " God be with me in the death struggle," exclaimed he. DEATH, 323 Ayesha now sent in haste for her father and Hafza. Left alone with Mahomet, she sustained his head on her lap, watching over him with ten- der assiduity, and endeavoring to soothe his dying agonies. From time to time he would dip his hand in a vase of water, and with it feebly sprinkle his face. At length raising his eyes and gazing upward for a time with un moving eyelids, " O Allah ! " ejaculated he, in broken accents, " be it so ! — among the glorious associates in paradise ! " " I knew by this," said Ayesha, who related the dying scene, " that his last moment had ar- rived, and that he had made choice of supernal existence." In a few moments his hands were cold, and life was extinct Ayesha laid his head upon the pillow, and beating her head and breast, gave way to loud lamentations. Her outcries brought the other wives of Mahomet, and their clamorous grief soon made the event known throughout the city. Consternation seized upon the people, as if some prodigy had happened. All business was suspended. The army which had struck its tents was ordered to halt, and Osama, whose foot was in the stirrup for the march, turned his steed to the gates of Medina, and planted his standard at the prophet's door. The multitude crowded to contemplate the corpse, and agitation and dispute prevailed even in the chamber of death. Some discredited the evidence of their senses. " How can he be dead ? " cried tJiey. " Is he not our mediator with God ? How then can he be dead ? Impossible ! He 324 ilAnOML'T AND niS SUCCESSORS. is but in a truucu, aiid carried up to litiaVHii like Isa (Jesus) and the other prophets." The throng aagmeuted about the house, de- claring with clutnor that the hodj should not be interred ; when Omar, wlio hod just heard the tid- ings, Lurived. Ho drew his sciiuetar, and passing through the crowd, threatened to strike off the hands and feet of any one who should aflirm that the prophet was dead. " He has but departed for a time," said he, ■' as Musa (Moses) the son of Imram went up forty days iiito the mountain ; and like hitn he will return again." Abu Beker, who had been in a distant part of the city, arrived in time to soothe the despair of the people aud calm the transports of Omar. Passing into the chamber he raised the ckiCh which corered the corpse, and kissing the pale face of Mahomet, " thou ! " exclaimed he, " who wert to me as my father and my mother j sweet art thou even in death, and Uviug odors dost thou exhale \ Now Hvest thou in everlasting bliss, for never will Allah subject thee to a second death." Then covering the corpse he went forth, and endeavored to silence Omar, but finding it impos- sible, he addressed the multitude. "Truly if Mahomet is the sole object of your adoration, he is dead ; but if it be God you worship, he cannot die. Mahomet was but the prophet of Ood, aud has shared the fate of the apostles and holy men who have gone before him. Allah, himself, has s^d in his Koran tliat Maliomet was but his am- bassador, aud was subject to death. 'Wha.l then ! PREPARATIONS FOR BURIAL. 325 will you turn the heel upon him, and abandon his doctrine because he is dead ? Remember your apostasy harms not God, but insures your own condemnation ; while the blessings of God will be poured out upon those who continue faith- ftd to him." The people listened to Abu Beker with tears and sobbings, and as they listened their despair subsided. Even Omar was convinced but not consoled, throwing himself on the earth and be- wailing the death of Mahomet, whom he remem- bered as his commander and his friend. The death of the prophet, according to the Moslem historians Abulfeda and Al Jaimabi, took place on his birthday, when he had completed his sixty-third year. It was in the eleventh year of the Hegira, and the 63 2d year of the Christian era. The body was prepared for sepulture by sev- eral of the dearest relatives and disciples. They affirmed that a marvelous fragrance which, ac- cording to the evidence of his wives and daughters, emanated from his person during life, still con- tinued ; so that, to use the words of Ali, " it seemed as if he were, at the same time, dead and living." The body having been washed and perfumed, was wrapped in three coverings ; two white, and the third of the striped cloth of Yemen. The whole was then perfumed with amber, musk, aloes, and odoriferous herbs. After this it was exposed in public, and seventy-two prayers were offered up. 326 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS, The body remained three days unburied, in compliance with oriental custom, and to satisfy those who still believed in the possibility of a trance. When the evidences of mortality could no longer be mistaken, preparations were made for interment. A dispute now arose as to the place of sepulture. The Mohadjerins or disciples from Mecca contended for that city, as being the place of his nativity ; the Ansarians claimed for Medina, as his asylum and the place of his resi- dence during the last ten years of his life. A third party advised that his remains should be transported to Jerusalem, as the place of sepul- ture of the prophets. Abu Beker, whose word had always the greatest weight, declared it to have been the expressed opinion of Mahomet that a prophet should be buried in the place where he died. This in the present instance was complied with to the very letter, for a grave was digged in the house of Ayesha, beneath the very bed on which Mahomet had expired. Note. — The house of Ayesha was immediately adjacent to the mosque, which was at that time a humble edifice with clay walls, and a roof thatched with palm leaves, and sup- ported by the trunks of trees. It has since been included in a spacious temple, on the plan of a colonnade, inclosing an oblong square, 165 paces by 130, open to the heavens, with four gates of entrance. The colonnade, of several rows of pillars of various sizes covered with stucco and gayly painted, supports a succession of small white cupolas on the four sides of the square. At the four comers are lofty and tapering minarets. Near the southeast comer of the square is an inclosure, sur- rounded by an iron railing, painted green, wrought with filagree work and interwoven with brass and gilded wire; TOMB OF MAHOMET, 327 admitting no view of the interior excepting through small windows, about six inches square. This inclosure, the great resort of pilgrims, is called the Hadgira, and contains the tombs of Mahomet, and his two friends and early successors, Abu Beker and Omar. Above this sacred inclosure rises a lofty dome surmounted with a gilded globe and crescent, at the first sight of which, pilgrims, as they approach Medina, salute the tomb of the prophet with profound inclinations of the body and appropriate prayers. The marvelous tale, so long considered veritable, that the coffin of Mahomet remained suspended in the air without any support, and which Chris- tian writers accounted for by supposing that it was of iron, and dexterously placed midway between two magnets, is proved to be an idle fiction. The mosque has undergone changes. It was at one time partially thrown down and destroyed in an awful tempest, but was rebuilt by the Soldan of Egypt. It has been enlarged and embellished by various Caliphs, and in particular by Waled I., under whom Spain was invaded and conquered. It was plundered of its immense votive treasures by the Wahabees when they took and pillaged Medina. It is now maintained, though with diminished splendor, under the care of about thirty Agas, whose chief is called Sheikh Al Haram, or Chief of the Holy House. He is the principal personage in Medina. Pilgrimage to Medina, though considered a most devout and meritorious act, is not imposed on Mahometans, like pilgrimage to Mecca, as a religious duty, and has much declined in modem days. The foregoing particulars are from Burckhardt, who gained admission into Medina, as well as into Mecca, in disguise and at great peril ; admittance into those cities being prohibited to all but Moslems. CHAPTER XXXIX. aAHOMET. ttccording to accounts handed n down by tradition from his eontempo- o? the middle stature, square built »ad sinewy, with large hands and feeL In his youth he was uncomtnoiily strong and vigoF- ous ; in the latter part of hia life he inclined to corpulency. His head was capacious, well shaped, and well set on a neck which rose like a pillar from his ample chest. His forehead was high, broad at the temples, aud crossed by veins extending down to the eyebrows, which swelled whenever he was angry or excited. He bad an oval face, marked and espreasive features, an aqniline nose, black eye», arched eyebrows which nearly met, a mouth large and llexible, indicative of eloquence ; very white teeth, somewhat parted and irregular ; black hair which waved without a curl on liis shoulders, and a long and very full beard. His deportment, in general, was calm and equable ; he sometimes indulged in pleasantry, monly was grave and dignifled ; tliough he is said to have possessed a smile of CEARA CTER18 TICS. 329 captivating sweetness. His complexion was more ruddy than is usual with Arabs, and in his excited and enthusiastic moments there was a glow and radiance in his countenance, which his disciples magnified into the supernatural light of prophecy. His intellectual qualities were undoubtedly of an extraordinary kind. He had a quick appre- hension, a retentive memory, a vivid imagination, and an inventive genius. Owing but little to education, h,e had quickened and informed his mind by close observation, and stored it with a great variety of knowledge concerning the sys- tems of religion current in his day, or handed down by tradition from antiquity. His ordinary discourse was grave and sententious, abounding with those aphorisms and apologues so popular among the Arabs ; at times he was excited and eloquent, and his eloquence was aided by a voice musical and sonorous. He was sober and abstemious in his diet, and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind ; neither was his simplicity in dress af- fected ; but the result of a real disregard to dis- tinction from so trivial a source. His garments were sometimes of wool ; sometimes of the striped cotton of Yemen, and were often patched. He wore a turban, for he said turbans were worn by the angels ; and in arranging it he let one end hang down between his shoulders, which he said was the way they wore it. He forbade the wearing of clothes entirely of silk ; but permitted 330 ^MAUOMET AND ms SUCCESSORS. a mixture of thread ttiid silk. He forbflde also red clothes and the use of gold ringa. He wore a seal ricig of silver, the eograved part under his finger close to the palm of hia hand, bearing the inscription, " Mahomet Che messenger of Giod." He was scrupulous as to personal cleanliness, and observed frequent ablutions. In some respects he was a voluptuary. » There are two things in this world," would he say, " which delight me, women and perfumes. These two things rejoice my eyes and render me more fervent in de- votion," From his extreme cleanlinesa, and the use uf perfumes and sweet-scented oil for his hair, probably arose that sweetness and fragrance of person, which his disciples considered innate and miraculous. His passion for the sex had an inSuence over all his affairs. It is said that when in the presence of a beautiful female, he was continually smoothing his brow and ad- justing his hair, as if anxious to appear to advan- tage. The number of his wives is uncertain. Abul- feda, who writes with more caution than other of thf! Arabian historians, limits it to fifteen, though some make it as much as twenty-iiYe. At the | time of bis death be bad nine, each in her sep- arate dwelling, and all in the vidoity of iLe mosque at Medina- The plea alleged for his in- dulgiug in a greater number of wives than he permitted to his followerH, was a desire to beget a race of prophets for his people. If such indeed were his desire, it was disappointed. Of all his childreo, Fatima the wife of Ali alone suryiyed CHARACTERISTICS. 831 him, and she died within a short time after his death. Of her descendants, tione excepting her eldest son Hassan ever sat on the throne of the Caliphs. In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerfid and the weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with whidi he received them, and listened to their complaints. He was naturally irritable, but had brought his temper under great control, so that even in the self-indulgent intercourse of domestic life he was kind and tolerant. " I served him from the time I was eight years old,*' said his servant Anas, " and he never scolded me for anything, though things were spoiled by me." The question now occurs, was he the unprin- cipled impostor that he has been represented? Were all his visions and revelations deliberate falsehoods, and was his whole system a tissue of deceit ? In considering this question we must bear in mind, that he is not chargeable with many extravagancies which exist in his name. Many of the visions and revelations handed down as having been given by him are spurious. The miracles ascribed to him are all fabrications of Moslem zealots. He expressly and repeatedly disclaimed all miracles excepting the Koran ; which, considering its incomparable merit, and the way in which it had come down to him from heaven, he pronounced the greatest of miracles. And here we must indulge a few observations on 332 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. this famous document. While zealous Moslems and some of the most learned doctors of the faith draw proofs of its divine origin from the inimit- able excellence of its style and composition, and the avowed illiteracy of Mahomet, less devout critics have pronounced it a chaos of beauties and defects ; without method or arrangement ; full of obscurities, incoherencies, repetitions, false ver- sions of Scriptural stories, and direct contradic- tions. The truth is that the Koran as it now exists is not the same Koran delivered by Ma- homet to his disciples, but has undergone many corruptions and interpolations. The revelations contained in it were given at various times, in various places, and before various persons ; sometimes they were taken down by his secre- taries or disciples on parchment, on palm-leaves, or the shoulder-blades of sheep, and thrown together in a chest, of which one of his wives had charge ; sometimes they were merely treasured up in the memories of those who heard them. No care appears to have been taken to systema- tize and arrange them during his life ; and at his death they remained in scattered fragments, paany of them at the mercy of fallacious memories. It was not until some time after his death that Abu Beker undertook to have them gathered together and transcribed. Zeid Ibn Thabet, who had been one of the secretaries of Mahomet, was employed for the purpose. He professed to know many parts of the Koran by heart, having written them down under the dictation of the prophet ; other parts he collected piecemeal from various hands, NOTICE OF THE KORAN. 333 written down in the rude way we have mentioned, and many parts he took down as repeated to him by various disciples who professed to have heard them uttered by the prophet himself. The heterogeneous fragments thus collected were thrown together without selection ; without chro- nological order, and without system of any kind. The volume thus formed during the Caliphat of Abu Beker was transcribed by different hands, and many professed copies put in circulation and dispersed throughout the Moslem cities. So many errors, interpolations, and contradictory readings, soon crept into these copies, that 0th- man, the third Caliph, called in the various manuscripts, and forming what he pronounced the genuine Koran, caused all the others to be de- stroyed. This simple statement may accoimt for many of the incoherfencies, repetitions, and other dis- crepancies charged upon this singular document. Mahomet, as has justly been observed, may have given the same precepts, or related the same apologue at different times, to different persons in different words ; or various persons may have been present at one time, and given various versions of his words ; and reported his apologues and scrip- tural stories in different ways, according to tlieir imperfect memoranda or fallible recollections. Many revelations given by him as having been made in foregone times to the prophets, his pre- decessors, may have been reported as having been given as relations made to himself. It has been intimated that Abu Beker, in the early days of 834 MAHOMET AND MIS SUCCESSORS, his Caliphat, may have found it politic to interpo- late many things in the Koran, calculated to aid him in emergencies, and confirm the empire of Islamism. What corruptions and interpolations may have been made by other and less scrupulous hands, after the prophet's death, we may judge by the daring liberties of the kind taken by Abdallah Ibn Saad, one of his secretaries, during his life-time. From all these circumstances it will appear, that even the documentary memorials concerning Mahomet abound with vitiations, while the tra- ditional are full of fable. These increase the difiiculty of solving the enigma of his character and conduct His history appears to resolve it- self into two grand divisions. During the first part, up to the period of middle life, we cannot perceive what adequate object he had to gain by the impious and stupendous imposture with which he stands charged. Was it riches ? His marriage with Cadijah had already made him wealthy, and for years preceding his pretended vision he had manifested no desire to increase his store. Was it distinction ? He already stood high in his native place, as a man of intelligence and probity. He was of the illustrious tribe of Koreish, and of the most honored branch of that tribe. Was it power ? The guardianship of the Caaba, and with it the conmiand of the sacred city, had been for generations in his immediate fainily, and his sit- uation and circumstances entitled him to look for- ward with confidence to that exalted trust In attempting to subvert the faith in which he had QUESTIONS OF IMPOSTURE. 335 been brought up, he struck at the root of all these advantages. On that faith were founded the fortunes and dignities of his family. To assail it must draw on himself the hostility of his kin- dred, the indignation of his fellow-citizens, and the horror and odium of all his countrymen, who were worshippers at the Caaba. Was there anything brilliant in the outset of his prophetic career to repay him for these sacri- fices, and to lure him on ? On the contrary, it was begun in doubt and secrecy. For years it was not attended by any material success. In proportion as he made known his doctrines and proclaimed his revelations, they subjected him to ridicule, scorn, obloquy, and finally to an inveterate persecution ; which ruined the fortunes of himself and his friends ; compelled some of his family and followers to take refuge in a foreign land ; obliged him to hide from sight in his native city, and finally drove him forth a fugitive to seek an imcertain home elsewhere. Why should he persist for years in a course of imposture which was thus prostrating all his worldly fortunes, at a time of life when it was too late to build them up anew ? In the absence of sufficient worldly motives, we are compelled to seek some other explanation of his conduct in this stage of his most enigmatical history ; and this we have endeavored to set forth in the early part of this work ; where we have shown his enthusiastic and visionary spirit gradu- ally wrought up by solitude, fasting, prayer, and meditation, and irritated by bodily disease into a state of temporary delirium, in which he fancies 33S MAHOMET AND SJS SUCCESSOBS. he receives a revelation from heaven, and is de- clared u prophet of the Moat High. We cftnnot but think there waa aelf-deceeption in this iii- staQco ; and that he believed in the reality of tlie dream or vision ; especially after his doubts had been combated by the eealouB and confiding Cadi- jfth, and the learned and crafty "Waraka. Once persuaded of hia divine mission to go forth and preach the faith, all subsequent dreams and impulses might be construed to the same pur- port; all might be considered intimations of the divine will, imparted in their several ways to him as a prophet. We find him repeatedly subject to trances and ecstasies in times of peculiar ngitatjon and exdtement, when he may have fimcied him- self again in communication with the Deity, and these were almost always followed by revelations. The general tenor of his conduct up to the time of his flight from Mecca, is that of an en- thusiast acting under a species of mental delusion ; deeply imbued with a conviction of his being a divine agent for religious reform: and there is something striking and sublime in the luminous path which his enthusiastic spirit struck out for itself through the bewildering maze of adverse faiths and wild traditions ; the pure and spiritual worship of the one true God, which he sought to substitute for the blind idolatry of bis childhood. All the parts of the Koran supposed to have been promulgated by him at this time, incoherently as they have come down to us, and marred as their pristine beauty must be in passing through various hands, are of a pure and elevated charac- . QUESTIONS OF IMPOSTURE. 337 ter, and breathe poetical, if not religious, inspi- ration. They show that he had drunk deep of the* living waters of Christianity, and if he had failed to imbibe them in their crystal purity, it might be because he had to drink from broken cisterns, and streams troubled and perverted by those who should have been their guardians. The faith he had hitherto inculcated was purer than that held forth by some of the pseudo Christians of Arabia, and his life, so fer, had been regulated according to its tenets. Such is our view of Mahomet and his conduct during the early part of his career, while he was a persecuted and ruined man in Mecca. A signal change, however, took place, as we have shown in the foregoing chapters, after his flight to Medina, when, in place of the mere shelter and protection which he sought, he finds himself revered as a prophet, implicitly obeyed as a chief, and at the head of a powerftd, growing, and warlike host of votaries. From this time worldly passions and worldly schemes too often give the impulse to his actions, instead of that visionary enthusiasm which, even if mistaken, threw a glow of piety on his earlier deeds. The old doctrines of forbearance, long-suffering, and resignation, are suddenly dashed aside ; he becomes vindictive towards those who have hitherto oppressed him, and ambitious of extended rule. His doctrines, precepts, and con- duct, become marked by contradictions, and his whole course is irregular and unsteady. Plis rev- elations, henceforth, are so often opportune, and fitted to particular emergencies, that we are led VOL. I. 22 338 MABOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS. to doubt Ilia sitiuerity, aud that be is any longer under the Bame delusion concerning them. StilJ, it must be rememberei], aa we have ehown, ihat the records of these revelations are not always to he depended upon. What he may have uttered as from his own will, may have been reported as if giveu by the will of God. Often, too, as we have already suggested, he may have eousidered his own impulses as diviue intimations ; and that, being an agent ordained to propagate the laith, all impulses and conceptions toward that end might be part of a continued and divine inspiration. If we are far from considering Mahomet the gross and impious impostor that some have rep- resented him, BO nbo are we indisposed U> give him credit far vast forecast, and for that deeply concerted scheme of universal conquest which has been ascribed lo him. He waa, undoubtedly, a man of great genius aud a suggestive tion, bat it appears to us that he was, i degree, the creature of impulse and excitement, and very much at the mercy of drcumstanceB. His schemes grew out of his fortunes, and not his fortunes out of his schemes. He was forty years of age before he first broached his doctrines. He suffered year after year to steal away before he promulgated them out of his own family. When he fled from Mecca thirteen years had elapsed from the announcement of his mission, aud frocn being a wealthy merchant he had sunk to he a ruined fugitive. When be reached Me- dina he had no idea of the worldly power that awaited him ; his only thought was to build a MILITARY CHARACTER, 339 humble mosque where he might preach ; and his only hope that he might be suffered to preach with impunity. When power suddenly broke upon him, he used it for a time in petty forays and local feuds. His military plans expanded with his resources, but were by no means mas- terly, and were sometimes unsuccessful. They were not struck out with boldness, nor executed with decision ; but were often changed in defer- ence to the opinions of warlike men about him, and sometimes at the suggestion of inferior minds, who occasionally led him wrong. Had he, indeed, conceived from the outset the idea of binding up the scattered and conflicting tribes of Arabia into one nation by a brotherhood of faiihy for the purpose of carrying out a scheme of external conquest, he would have been one of the first of military projectors ; but the idea of extended conquest seems to have been an after- thought, produced by success. The moment he proclaimed the religion of the sword, and gave the predatory Arabs a taste of foreign plunder, that moment he was launched in a career of con- quest, which carried him forward with its own irresistible impetus. The fanatic zeal with which he had inspired his followers did more for his success than his military science ; their be- lief in his doctrine of predestination produced victories which no military calculation could have anticipated. In his dubious outset as a prophet, he had been encouraged by the crafty counsels of his scriptural oracle Waraka ; in his career as a conqueror, he had Omar, Khaled, and other 840 MAHOMET AND HIS 8UCCES80RS. fiery spirits by his side to urge him on, and to aid him in managing the tremendous power which he had evoked into action. Even with all their aid, he had occasionally to avail himself of his supernatural machinery as a prophet, and in so doing may have reconciled himself to the fraud by considering the pious end to be obtained. His military triumphs awakened no pride, no vainglory, as they would have done had they been affected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power, he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his* adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect were shown him. If he aimed at universal dominion, it was the dominion of the faith : as to the tem- poral rule which grew up in his hands, as he used it without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it in his family. The riches which poured in upon him from tribute and the spoils of war, were expended in promoting the victories of the faith, and in re- lieving the poor among its votaries ; insomuch that his treasury was often drained of its last coin. Omar Ibn Al Hareth declares that Ma- homet, at his death, did not leave a golden dinar nor a silver dirhem, a slave nor a slave girl, nor anything but his gray mule Daldal, his arms, and the ground which he bestowed upon his wives, his children, and the poor. " Allah," says an Arabian writer, " offered him the kevs of all the treasures of the earth, but he refused to accept them." CONCLUSION. 341 It is this perfect abnegation of self, connected with this apparently heartfelt piety, running throughout the various phases of his fortune, which perplex one in forming a just estimate of Mahomet's character. However he betrayed the alloy of earth after he had worldly power at his command, the early aspirations of his spirit con- tinually returned and bore him above all earthly things. Prayer, that vital duty of Islamism, and that infallible purifier of the soul, was his con- stant practice. " Trust in Gk)d," was his com- fort and support in times of trial and despon- dency. On the clemency of God, we are told, he reposed all his hopes of supernal happiness. Ayesha relates that on one occasion she inquired of him, " O prophet, do none enter paradise but through God's mercy ? " " None — none — ! " replied he, with earnest and emphatic repetition. " But you, O prophet, will not you enter except- ing through his compassion ? " Then Mahomet put his hand upon his head, and replied three times, with great solenmity, " Neither shall I enter paradise unless God cover me with his mercy ! " When he hung over the death-bed of his in- fant son Ibrahim, resignation to the will of God was exhibited in his conduct under this keenest of afflictions ; and the hope of soon rejoining his child in paradise was his consolation. When he followed him to the grave, he invoked his spirit, in the awful examination of the tomb, to hold fast to the foundations of the faith, the unity of God, and his own mission as a prophet. Even 842 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS. in his own dying hour, when there could be no longer a worldly motive for deceit, he still breathed the same religious devotion, and the same belief in his apostolic mission. The last words that trembled on his lips ejaculated a trust of soon entering into blissful companionship with the prophets who had gone before him. It is difficult to reconcile such ardent, perse- vering piety, with an incesssnt system of blasphe- mous imposture ; nor such pure and elevated and benignant precepts as are contained in the Koran, with a mind haunted by ignoble passions, and devoted to the grovelling interests of mere mortality ; and we find no other satisfactory mode of solving the enigma of his character and conduct, than by supposing that the ray of men- tal hallucination which flashed upon his enthu- siastic spirit during his religious ecstasies in the midnight cavern of Mount Hara, continued more or less to bewilder him with a species of mono- mania to the end of his career, and that he died in the delusive belief of his mission as a prophet. APPENDIX. !» APPENDIX. OF THE ISLAM FAITH. |N an early chapter of this work we have given such particulars of the faith in- culcated by Mahomet as we deemed im- portant to the understanding of the succeeding narrative: we now, though at the expense of some repetition, subjoin a more complete sum- mary, accompanied by a few observations. The religion of Islam, as we observed on the before-mentioned occasion, is divided into two parts ; Faith and Practice : — and first of Faith. This is distributed under six different heads, or articles, viz : 1st, faith in God ; 2d, in his angels ; 3d, in his Scriptures or Koran ; 4th, in his prophets ; 5th, in the resurrection and final judgment ; 6th, in predestination. Of these we will briefly treat in the order we have enumerated them. Faith in God. — Mahomet inculcated the be- lief that there is, was, and ever will be, one only God, the creator of all things ; who is single, im- mutable, omniscient, omnipotent, all-merciftd, and eternal. The unity of God was specifically and 346 APPENDIX. strongly urged, in contradistinction to the Trinity of the Christians. It was designated, in the pro- fession of feith, by raising one finger, and ex- claiming, " La illaha il Allah ! " There is no God but God ; to which was added, " Mohamed Re- soul Allah ! " Mahomet is the prophet of God. Faith in Angels. — The beautiful doctrine of angels, or ministering spirits, which was one of the most ancient and universal of oriental creeds, is interwoven throughout the Islam system. They are represented as ethereal beings, created from fire, the purest of elements, perfect in form and radiant in beauty, but without sex ; free from all gross or sensual passion, and all the appetites and infirmities of frail "humanity ; and existing in perpetual and unfading youth. They are various in their degrees and duties, and in their favor with the Deity. Some worship around the celestial throne ; others perpetually hymn the praises of Allah; some are winged messengers to execute his orders, and others intercede for the children of men. The most distinguished of this heavenly host are four Archangels. Gabriel, the angel of re- velations, who writes down the divine decrees ; Michael, the champion, who fights the battles of the faith ; Azrail, the angel of death ; and Izrafil, who holds the awful commission to sound the trumpet on the day of resurrection. There was another angel named AzazU, the same as Lucifer, once the most glorious of the celestial band ; but he became proud and rebellious. When God com- manded his angels to worship Adam, AzazLl re- FAITH OF ISLAM. 347 fused, saying, " Why should I, whom thou hast created of fire, bow down to one whom thou hast formed of clay ? " For this offense he was ac- cursed and cast forth from paradise, and his name changed to Eblis, which signifies despair. In re- venge of his abasement, he works all kinds of mischief against the children of men, and inspires them with disobedience and impiety. Among the angels of inferior rank is a class called Moakkibat ; two of whom keep watch upon each mortal, one on the right hand, the other on the left, taking note of every word and action. At the close of each day they fly up to heaven with a written report, and are replaced by two similar angels on the following day. According to Mahometan tradition, every good action is re- corded ten times by the angel on the right ; and if the mortal commit a sin, the same benevolent spirit says to the angel on the left, " Forbear for seven hours to record it; peradventure he may repent and pray and obtain forgiveness." Beside the angelic orders Mahomet inculcates a belief in spiritual beings called Gins or Genii, who, though likewise created of fire, partake of the appetites and frailties of the children of the dust, and like them are ultimately liable to death. By beings of this nature, which haunt the solitudes of the desert, Mahomet, as we have shown, pro- fessed to have been visited after his evening orisons in the solitary valley of Al Naklah. When the angel Azazil rebelled and fell, and became Satan or Eblis, he still maintained sov- ereignty over these inferior spirits ; who are divided 318 APPENDIX. by Orientalists into Dives and Peri : the former ferocious and gigantic ; the latter delicate and gentle, subsisting on perfunes. It would seem as if the Peri were all of the female sex, though on this point there rests obscurity. From these im- aginary beings it is supposed the European fairies are derived. Besides these there are other demi-spirits called Tacwins or Fates ; being winged females of beau- tiful forms, who utter oracles, and defend mortals from the assaults and machinations of evil demons. There is vagueness and uncertainty about all the attributes given by Mahomet to these half- celestial beings ; his ideas on the subject having been acquired from various sources. His whole system of intermediate spirits has a strong, though indistinct inftision of the creeds and superstitions of the Hebrews, the Magians, and the Pagans or Sabeans. The third article of faith is a belief in the Koran, as a book of divine revelation. According to the Moslem creed, a book was treasured up in the seventh heaven, and had existed there from all eternity, in which were written down all the decrees of God, and all events, past, present, or to to come. Transcripts from these tablets of the divine will were brought down to the lowest heaven by the angel Gabriel, and by him revealed to Mahomet from time to time, in portions adapted to some event or emergency. Being the direct words of God, they were all spoken in the first person. Of the way in which these revelations were taken down or treasured up by secretaries and FAITH OF ISLAM. 349 disciples, and gathered together by Abu Beker after the death of Mahomet, we have made suffi- cient mention. The compilation, for such in fact it is, forms the Moslem code of civil and penal, as well as religious law, and is treated with the utmost reverence by all true believers. A zealous pride is shown in having copies of it splendidly bound and ornamented. An inscription on the cover forbids any one to touch it who is unclean, and it is considered irreverent, in reading it, to hold it below the girdle. Moslems swear by it, and take omens from its pages, by opening it and reading the first text that meets the eye. With all its errors and discrepancies, if we consider it mainly as the work of one man, and that an un- lettered man, it remains a stupendous monument of solitary legislation. Beside the Koran or written law, a number of precepts and apologues which casually fell from the lips of Mahomet were collected after his death from ear- witnesses, and transcribed into a book called the Sonna or Oral Law. This is held equally sacred with the Koran by a sect of Mahometans thence called Sonnites ; others reject it as apocryphal ; these last are termed Schiites. Hostilities and persecutions have occasionally taken place between these sects almost as viru- lent as those which, between Catholics and Prot- estants, have disgraced Christianity. The Son- nites are distinguished by white, the Schiites by red turbans ; hence the latter have received from their antagonists the appellation of Kussilbachi, or Red Heads. 350 APPENDIX. It is remarkable that circumcision, which is invariably practised by the Mahometans, and forms a distinguishing rite of their faith, to which all proselytes must conform, is neither mentioned in the Koran nor the Sonna. It seems to have been a general usage in Arabia, tacitly adopted from the Jews, and is even said to have been prevalent throughout the East before the time of Moses. It is said that the Koran forbids the making likenesses of any living thing, which has prevented the introduction of portrait-painting among Ma- hometans. The passage of the Koran, however, which is thought to contain the prohibition, seems merely an echo of the second commandment, held sacred by Jews and Christians, not to form images or pictures for worship. One of Mahomet's standards was a black eagle. Among the most distinguished Moslem ornaments of the Alhambra at Granada is a fountain supported by lions carved of stone, and some Moslem monarchs have had their effigies stamped on their coins. Another and an important mistake with regard to the system of Mahomet, is the idea that it denies souls to the female sex, and excludes them from paradise. This error arises from his omit- ting to mention their enjoyments in a ftiture state, while he details those of his own sex with the minuteness of a voluptuary. The beatifica- tion of virtuous females is alluded to in the 56th Sura of the Koran, and also in other places, although from the vagueness of the language a FAITH OF ISLAM. 351 cursory reader might suppose the Houris ot para- dise to be intended. The fourth article of faith relates to the PROPHETS. Their number amounts to two hun- dred thousand, but only six are super-eminent, as having brought new laws and dispensations upon earth, each abrogating those previously received wherever they varied or were contradictory. These six distinguished prophets were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet. The fifth article of Islam faith is on the res- urrection and the final judgment. On this awftil subject Mahomet blended some of the Christian belief with certain notions current among the Arabian Jews. One of the latter is the fearful tribunal of the Sepulchre. When AzraJQ, the angel of death, has performed his office, and the corpse has been consigned to the tomb, two black angels, Munkar and Nakeer, of dismal and appaQing aspect, present themselves as inquisitors ; during whose scrutiny the soul is reunited to the body. The deftmct, being com- manded to sit up, is interrogated as to the two great points of faith, the unity of God and the divine mission of Mahomet, and likewise as to the deeds done by him during life ; and his replies are recorded in books against the day of judgment. Should they be satisfactory, his soul is gently drawn forth from his lips, and his body left to its repose ; should they be otherwise, he is beaten about the brows with iron clubs, and his soul wrenched forth with racking tortures. For the convenience of this awful inquisition, the Ma- 352 APPENDIX. hometans generally deposit their dead in hollow or vaulted sepulchres ; merely wrapped in funeral clothes, but not placed in coffins. The space of time between death and resurrec- tion is called Berzak, or the Interval. During this period the body rests in the grave, but the soul has a foretaste, in dreams or visions, of its future doom. The souls of prophets are admitted at once into the fiill fruition of paradise. Those of mar- tyrs, including all who die in battle, enter into the bodies or crops of green birds, who feed on the fruits and drink of the streams of paradise. Those of the great mass of true believers are variously disposed of, but, according to the most received opinion, they hover, in a state of seraphic tranquillity, near the tombs. Hence the Moslem usage of visiting the graves of their departed friends and relatives, in the idea that their souls are the gratified witnesses of these testimonials of affection. Many Moslems believe that the souls of the truly faithful assume the forms of snow-white birds, and nestle beneath the throne of Allah ; a belief in accordance with an ancient superstition of the Hebrews that the souls of the just will have a place in heaven under the throne of glory. With regard to the souls of infidels, the most orthodox opinion is that they will be repulsed by angels both from heaven and earth, and cast into the cavernous bowels of the earth, there to await in tribulation the day of judgment. The day of resurrection will be preceded FAITH OF ISLAM, 353 by signs and portents in heaven and earth. A total eclipse of the moon ; a change in the course of the sun, rising in the west instead of the east ; wars and tumults ; a universal decay of faith ; the advent of Antichrist ; the issuing forth of Gog and Magog to desolate the world ; a great smoke, covering the whole earth : these and many more prodigies and omens affrighting and harassing the souls of men, and producing a wretchedness of spirit and a weariness of life ; insomuch that a man passing by a grave shall envy the quiet dead, and say, " Would to God I were in thy place ! " The last dread signal of the awful day will be the blast of a trumpet by the archangel Izrafil. At the sound thereof the earth will tremble ; castles and towers will be shaken to the ground, and mountains leveled with the plains. The face of heaven will be darkened ; the firmament will melt away, and the sun, the moon, and stars will fall into the sea. The ocean will be either dried up, or will boil and roll in fiery billows. At the sound of that dreadful trump a panic will fall on the human race ; men will fly from their brothers, their parents, and their wives ; and mothers, in frantic terror abandon the infant at the breast. The savage beasts of the forests, and the tame animals of the pasture, will forget their fierceness and their antipathies, and herd together in affright. The second blast of the trumpet is the blast of extermination. At that sound, all creatures in heaven and on earth and in the waters under the earth, angels and genii, and men and animals, VOL. I. 23 354 APPENDIX, all will die ; excepting the chosen few especially reserved by Allah. The last to die will be Azrail, the angel of death! Forty days, or, according to explanations, forty years of continued rain will follow this blast of extermination ; then will be sounded for the third time the trumpet of the archangel Izrafil ; it is the call to judgment! At the sound of this blast, the whole space between heaven and earth will be filled with the souls of the dead flying in quest of their respective bodies. Then the earth will open ; and there will be .a rattling of dry bones, and a gathering together of scattered limbs ; the very hairs will congregate together, and the whole body be reunited, and the soul will reenter it, and the dead will rise from mutilation, perfect in every part, and naked as when bom. The infidels will grovel with their faces on the earth, but the faithful will walk erect ; as to the truly pious, they will be borne aloft on winged camels, white as milk, with saddles of fine gold. Every human being will then be put upon his trial as to the manner in which he has employed his faculties, and the good and evil actions of his life. A mighty balance will be poised by the angel Gabriel; in one of the scales, termed Light, will be placed his good actions ; in the other, termed Darkness, his evil deeds. An atom or a grain of mustard-seed will suffice to turn this balance ; and the nature of the sentence will depend on the pre- ponderance of either scale. At that moment re- tribution will be exacted for every wrong and injury. He who has wronged a fellow-mortal FAITH OF ISLAM. 355 will have to repay him with a portion of his own good deeds, or, if he have none to boast of, will have to take upon liimself a proportionate weight of the other's sins. The trial of the balance will be succeeded by the ordeal of the bridge. The whole assembled multitude will have to follow Mahomet across the bridge Al Serat, as fine as the edge of a scimetar, which crosses the gulf of Jehennam or Hell. Infidels and sinful Moslems will grope along it darkling and fall into the abyss ; but the faithful, aided by a beaming light, will cross with the swift- ness of birds and enter the realms of paradise. The idea of this bridge, and of the dreary realm of Jehennam, is supposed to have been derived partly from the Jews, but chiefly from the Magians. Jehennam is a region frau